A New Family
by Hermione Romanoff
Summary: In 1987, Emily Boleyn and her mother move to Derry, Maine from Indiana to escape the girl's abusive father. Little does she know of the horrors that will await her in the form of bullies and an evil demonic clown. The Losers' Club have her back, however... Stan/OC
1. Moving Away From Terror

**DISCLAIMER: IT IS OWNED BY NEW LINE CINEMA AND WARNER BROS STUDIOS! I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING EXCEPT FOR MY OC!**

**A/N: Well, might as well start writing ANOTHER It story while I wait to start my sequel to Dealing With Being a Loser! **

**Just to let you guys know, this is an ENTIRELY different story to the other one I wrote, but it will ALSO follow the 2017 film! I should seriously write one that follows the book lol But I don't have the patience for that right now XD**

**Anyway, there is a new OC in this story! Her name is Emily Boleyn! Her story starts nearly two years before the events of the 2017 movie, just for her character development.**

**Warning! Mentions of physical abuse in this first chapter, but don't worry! It won't last very long! :)**

**Now, without further ado, here is the first chapter of my new It story, A New Family!**

_**Directed by Andy Muschietti**_

_**Written by Hermione Romanoff**_

_**Based off of the novel "IT" by Stephen King**_

**Cast (teenagers):**

_**Chosen Jacobs as Mike Hanlon**_

_**Jeremy Ray Taylor as Ben Hanscom**_

_**Jack Dylan Grazer as Eddie Kaspbrak**_

_**Finn Wolfhard as Richie Tozier**_

_**Sophia Lillis as Beverly Marsh**_

_**Jaeden Martell as Bill Denbrough**_

_**Wyatt Oleff as Stan Uris**_

_**Mackenzie Foy as Emily Boleyn**_

**Cast (adults):**

_**Andy Bean as Stan Uris**_

_**Jay Ryan as Ben Hanscom**_

_**Isaiah Mustafa as Mike Hanlon**_

_**James Ransone as Eddie Kaspbrak**_

_**Jessica Chastain as Beverly Rogan**_

_**Bill Hader as Richie Tozier**_

_**James McAvoy as Bill Denbrough**_

_**and Danielle Harris as Emily Boleyn**_

**Cast (additional original characters):**

_**Afra Sophia Tully as Danielle Boleyn (Emily's daughter)**_

_**Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Charlotte Boleyn (Emily's mother)**_

* * *

_Living easy, living free_

_Season Ticket on a one-way ride_

_Asking nothing, leave me be_

_Taking everything in my stride_

* * *

**_Chapter One: Moving Away From Terror_**

_Sunday, October 25th, 1987_

_Indianapolis, Indiana _

_11:36 A.M._

The eleven-year-old girl finished packing both of her suitcases as she tucked a strand of her long brown hair behind her ear. She kept glancing around her room, making sure that she didn't forget anything. The room was now completely empty, and she couldn't help but feel slightly relieved. But her muscles were tense as she heard her mother and father screaming at each other from downstairs.

"You two are not leaving!" her father yelled.

"Yeah, well… You aren't gonna treat us like garbage anymore!" her mother retorted, although her yelling was more calm. "I've told you several times that it's over!"

Emily Boleyn's hands were clenched into fists as she heard the arguing. She took deep breaths, trying to calm herself before she lost control. She had lost it multiple times during the fights her parents had, which were on a weekly basis. She would even defend her mother, which always earned her a slap to the face from her father.

In fact, that exact thing had happened the night before. Something that she realized as she briefly touched her right cheek. Emily didn't flinch but her eyes squinted just a little behind her glasses at the slight pain that was present under her fingers.

She had taken so many beatings from her father that she had grown used to it. She already dealt with so much pain on a daily basis, but it seemed as if Emily's mother was the only person in this dark world that truly loved her and cared about her.

Even Emily's first and only boyfriend had treated her horribly. He always bossed her around and called her names that she wouldn't even call other people. Well, unless it came to her father or any bully. She wasn't even that popular at the school that she would no longer be going to now, since she and her mother were moving over 1,100 miles away. To be honest, the young girl was immensely relieved at this. Finally being able to be free from her abusive father was like Heaven. And she was also happy that her mother was finally getting away from him as well.

Emily suddenly remembered something and immediately rushed over to the wall that was hidden by her old bed. She pulled a piece of wood that she had cut out from the wall and grabbed a plain black box. She pulled the lid off of it and sighed with relief.

She gently took the red pocket knife out of the box and shoved it in her pocket. The knife had belonged to her grandfather that passed away two years ago, and he had given it to her right before his death. The gift meant everything to her and she had taken it with her everywhere she went. Yes, even to school, because weapons hadn't been banned from schools yet. Plus, nobody noticed that she carried it with her.

Besides, it was only for her protection, so she always felt as if she needed it with her.

Emily jumped when she heard a knock on her door. She whipped her head around and saw her mother, Charlotte, standing in the doorway. She visibly relaxed when she saw her, which made the woman laugh a little, despite her uneasy expression.

"You have everything ready, sweetie?" Charlotte asked gently.

Emily nodded, taking a deep breath and returning the smile. Her mother noticed the worried expression on her face and walked over to her. They could both hear the sounds of Emily's father, Tom, yelling at the top of his lungs. Charlotte ignored this as she hugged her daughter tightly.

"Don't worry, Em," she whispered soothingly. "You will never see him again. I'll never let anyone hurt you like he did ever again."

Charlotte was very protective of her daughter, mostly because she loved Emily so dearly and hated it when Tom abused her. She had literally gone so far as to purchase a house in Derry, Maine, which was over 1,100 miles away from Indiana.

She also wanted to move to this small town because she was getting tired of the big city that surrounded them. Charlotte wanted her daughter to live in a less hectic town where it was more quiet and peaceful.

She definitely did not realize the hidden horrors that was masked by Derry. The horrors that her own daughter would get involved with in a year and a half.

She let go of the embrace and patted Emily on the shoulder. "Let me get this argument over with your father, and then we can leave… For good… Go ahead, get finished and get in the car…" she informed her.

Emily nodded as her mother left the room. She shoved her books and VHS tapes in her second suitcase, but made sure that she didn't damage them. But she was still tense, a little anxious that her father would come barging into the room and hit her again.

But Emily _did_ know that her mother was a pretty tough woman, having literally hit her own ex-husband just so he wouldn't get to their daughter and hurt her. This had only happened several times in the past. And Emily always got scared every time she did this, always worried that her mother would get herself hurt in the process.

And, sure enough, she had. And this made Emily snap one day. She herself hit her father across the face in response to Tom slapping Charlotte multiple times while she defended her daughter. When he went to possibly beat her worse than ever, she had run away and stayed out of the house until around 11:30 that night. When she had gotten home, that was when her mother sat her down and explained to her that they would soon be leaving Indianapolis without her father.

And today was the day that they were moving to Derry, Maine. To be honest, she wasn't upset to be leaving her old school, since she had almost no friends from there. The 'friends' that she did have were fake people that she really disliked. Emily was very curious as to what Derry would be like.

Would the townsfolk be welcoming? Would the kids be nice and want to befriend her? Or would both of those possibilities not come true? God, she prayed that the latter wasn't true…

Right as she heard footsteps thunder up the stairs, shattering her thoughts, Emily zipped her suitcases, closing them. She quickly grabbed the handles of both of them and ran out of the room. But she wasn't able to get very far, as Tom blocked her way with a furious expression on his face.

"You're not going anywhere!" he said as calmly as he could. Emily could easily see his anger as she tried to walk past him, her face completely blank.

"Get out of my way," she growled softly through her teeth. Tom grabbed a handful of her brown hair and jerked it. Emily winced slightly, but showed no true sign of pain and fear in response. "What did you say?" he asked, his voice getting louder.

"I said get out of my way!" she bellowed, dropping her suitcases and taking out her pocket knife. "Do _not_ make me use this against you, you monster!"

"You do _not_ use that type of tone towards your father, young lady!" Tom screamed, drawing his hand to slap her again, but Emily was quicker, shoving her father out of the way. Because Tom was an idiot, he easily fell to the floor. She picked up her suitcases at lightning speed and jogged down the stairs.

Once she had gotten them into the car truck, she sprinted to the passenger side door when she saw her father charging at her from the front door. She quickly opened the door and got inside, slamming it shut and locking it. At that exact moment, Charlotte stepped out of the house with her own suitcases and started screaming at Tom.

"You're NOT leaving!" Tom yelled, trying to grab his now ex-wife. She dodged this and tossed her bags in the car, getting inside and starting the ignition.

"Goodbye, Tom!" Charlotte said simply and she stepped on the gas pedal, causing the car to speed down the street. And they left their nightmare behind forever…

Emily audibly sighed with relief as they took a right turn and left the street that tortured her for her entire life. Charlotte noticed this and freed one of her hands from the steering wheel, taking hers and holding it tightly.

"It'll all be okay now, Em," she said in a soft voice. "You'll see. I will never let anything like that happen to you again."

"I know," Emily replied, her voice rather small for a person like her. She added to this statement by squeezing her mother's hand, which made her smile.

"So, when it gets past dark, we'll stop at a motel and stay there for the night. Then we'll leave in the morning and arrive tomorrow night," she explained in the simplest way that she could. Emily nodded along with what she was saying as she put her headphones on and plugged them into her Walkman. She pressed Play and immediately, the lyrics of 'Highway to Hell' rang through her ears.

Charlotte could hear the loud music just barely, and she shook her head, while trying not to laugh at her daughter's music taste. She herself was a fan of AC/DC, so she didn't really mind. She even nodded her head with the music, although she almost couldn't hear it at all.

Emily, meanwhile, wasn't jamming to the song. In fact, she found herself feeling at peace with it, leaning her head against the cool glass and closing her eyes.

* * *

_Ten Hours Later_

_9:43 P.M._

_Pleasant Valley Motel_

_Massachusetts_

"Em, wake up… Wake up, sweetie…"

The young girl stirred slightly as she slowly lifted her head off of the window. There was no more music playing through her headphones as she took them off of her ears. She opened her eyes and looked up. It was no longer daylight outside, the only source of light being the sign of the motel they had stopped at. Emily looked at her mother with a small smirk on her face.

"Couldn't have bothered to carry me inside?" she asked jokingly. Charlotte laughed as she playfully poked her daughter in response.

"Nope. You're a big girl now," she replied in the same sarcastic tone. This caused them both to laugh for a few seconds. But after that fleeting moment of happiness, Emily opened the passenger door and got out. She went to the trunk and opened it, pulling her suitcase for her clothes out and carrying it to the sidewalk. She waited for her mother to pay for their room. Luckily, at least for her, it wasn't that expensive. This was despite the fact that she and her mother were not poor, Charlotte having worked in a successful business of her own.

In just a few minutes, Emily and her mother were in their room and unpacking a few clothes to wear for the night. The young girl was in the tiny bathroom, brushing her hair when Charlotte came up behind her.

"I'm gonna go to the little fast food joint next door. Do you want me to pick you up something?" she asked.

Emily didn't want to sound too keen, but her head had shot up at the word 'food.' Charlotte noticed this and smiled at her daughter, so the young girl couldn't lie to her own mother.

"Okay," she said. "Food sounds good."

Charlotte nodded and stepped out of the room. "Are you sure that you'll be okay by yourself, honey?" she asked, a little worry in her tone. Emily gave her mother a small smile and nodded. "Mom, like you said, I'm a big girl now. I'll be fine," she replied.

"All right," the young woman in her mid-30s said. "If they have burgers, I'll get you a plain one with some fries," she added, opening the door and exiting the room.

Emily was left all by herself as she pulled the curtains over the windows. She was a little scared that someone would be peeping through them, that specific paranoia sticking with her ever since she was a little girl. She changed into her pajamas and was relieved at the warm feeling the clothes gave her.

She went to go sit on the bed that she and her mother would be sharing and pulled one of her books out of her bookbag. She opened it and began to read, finding lots and lots of peace in the quiet atmosphere that filled the motel room. Emily thought that she could do this for hours, since she loved reading so much. In fact, it was her favorite thing to do when she had the free time.

Even though it was very chilly outside, it was strangely burning up inside the room, so Emily got up and turned on the air conditioner, but left it on low so she wouldn't freeze to death. She got back on the bed and picked up from where she left off in her book. She smiled when she got to certain parts and even laughed at others.

But before long, the motel door opened and Charlotte stepped into the room with two bags of food. Emily put her book down and took the bag that her mother offered to her.

They both ate their food while having a cheerful conversation about whatever. They burst out laughing when they talked about something funny that Emily had done at her old school. But eventually, all laughter quieted down and they were left with a comfortable but somewhat deadly silence. Finally, after about five minutes, Emily spoke up.

"Mom?"

"Yeah?"

Emily took a deep breath and looked at her mother. "When I start school in Derry… I don't know if anyone will like me or want to be my friend… I'm afraid that I'm not gonna have any friends just like I did at my old school…"

Charlotte gave her daughter a sympathizing look and put a hand on her back, rubbing it soothingly. This was something that she had always done when Emily was just a small child. "Sweetie," she began, "I think that people will most likely judge you because you're the new kid in school. That happened to me when I was in your shoes."

Emily chuckled a little. "Wow, way to be blunt," she replied sarcastically.

"But," Charlotte continued, "I'm sure that some of the kids will love you. You're such a sweetheart when you meet someone new, you're very polite. I was nice to new kids that I met when I moved to Indiana at your age. I made friends pretty easily, but that didn't stop bullies from targeting me." The woman rolled her eyes slightly as she remembered this. "I think that you're just a little too quiet… You need to at least try to talk to people… And, who knows? Maybe a boy will have a crush on you."

Emily playfully shoved her mother. "Mom, please," she pleaded. "Don't you think I'm a little too young to be dating anyone?"

"Oh, don't you even," Charlotte replied in a sly way. "What about that boy you used to date when you were 10? Jack Hargensen?"

This made Emily's smile drop completely as she turned away from her mother. "Don't talk about that _jerk_," she said in disgust.

"Emily!" her mother scolded.

"Hey, I'm making a point!" Emily stated. "He treated me like I was nothing. He bossed me around and called me names that I can't even say around you. He was a horrible person!"

Charlotte's eyes widened. So _this_ was the real reason why her daughter had broken up with Jack. She was angry when she heard how the boy had handled Emily, but was also sad at the fact that the young girl had felt like she was nothing. Because of this, she immediately pulled Emily into a hug.

"I'm so sorry," she said in a comforting manner. "He treated you like crap, and I'm sorry he did that. I wish you would've told me sooner, though. But listen to me."

Charlotte pulled away from the hug and made her daughter look directly into her eyes.

"You're not nothing," she said simply. "You are _not_ nothing. You are the greatest thing that has ever happened to me, even if your father was an horrible person… You are the sweetest little girl that I've ever seen. You are very strong and can stand up for yourself and others. I am very thankful to call you my daughter."

Emily gave her mother a big smile and hugged her tightly again. "I love you, Mom," she whispered.

"I love you, too, Em," Charlotte replied easily.

The two continued to eat and laugh at whatever, just like they had done earlier. But, after a few hours, they both decided that it was time to get some sleep.

They both fell asleep around _10:30_ that night, prepared to leave the next morning for a new life.

* * *

_Monday, October 26th, 1987_

_8:35 A.M._

Emily was the first person awake the following morning as she opened her eyes and stretched a little. She was careful not to wake her mother, but knew that they would both have to leave soon if they wanted to arrive at their new house before dark. She stared at the ceiling for what seemed like a long time, but when she finally sat up, only five minutes had passed.

She got off of the bed and changed into a new pair of clothes. She then walked over to one of the windows and pulled the curtain back slightly. Sure enough, the sunshine outside flooded through the tiny crack. The light gave her a slight sense of pride as she dropped the curtain.

Emily then walked over to the bed and started gently shaking her mother awake.

"Rise and shine, Mom," she said in a somewhat sing-song voice. Charlotte stirred as she groaned a little. The woman finally opened her eyes and sat up.

"What time is it?" she asked in a tired voice.

"Almost 9 o'clock," Emily replied.

Charlotte nodded and finally got out of bed. "Let me get changed. Then we can go get some breakfast before we leave," she said.

"Okay," Emily said in response.

After her mother got dressed, they both left the motel room and went to the fast food joint next door. They both got biscuits and gravy, although Emily got eggs with it. They ate their delicious food in peace, but before long, they finished and went back to the motel.

They repacked their bags and put them back into the trunk. Emily and Charlotte both got into the car and drove away from the motel. They then got back onto the highway, driving another seven hours to Derry, Maine.

Emily had no idea that in a year and a half, she would go through the worst summer of her life.

* * *

**A/N: You know how I roll by now. PLEASE READ THIS!**

**So, first chapter out of the way! Yay! They're moving to Derry! And it looks like Emily will be making new friends sometime soon! :D**

**Thoughts on this first chapter? Was it great?**

**Do you like the character of Emily? Is she cool? Let me know!**

**I do have an idea on who I should pair Emily with later on in the story! I WILL NOT REVEAL IT! You'll just have to guess lol**

**Predictions for future chapters?**

**Will she end up floating in the end? Or will she live?**

**Please answer the questions in your reviews if you want!**

**Hope you enjoyed this first chapter! Please read and review! Would love it if you favorite and follow this story! Have a great day, and until next time!**

**— Hermione Romanoff**


	2. Discovering New Friends

**DISCLAIMER: IT IS OWNED BY NEW LINE CINEMA AND WARNER BROS STUDIOS! I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING EXCEPT FOR MY OC!**

**A/N: Second. Chapter. Is. Finally. Here! I'm sorry it took me longer to write this one. I am currently trying to write my IT sequel along with more one-shots for Steph and Bill lol I'm also trying to escape my writer's block for my Avengers story. Writer's block SUCKS! XD**

**_ .2019: Thanks! Glad you like it!_**

**_Connie Hooper: Thank you so much! You're finally getting the second chapter lol_**

**_Special thanks to .2019, SuperSentai199, LostBoys453, fictionfangirl1, Maddell, Connie Hooper, and edvy8 for either leaving a review or favoriting and following the story!_**

**Now, without further ado, here is the second chapter! And also, two characters will be introduced! You have been informed!**

* * *

_Back in black_

_I hit the sack _

_I've been too long, I'm glad to be back_

_Yes, I'm let loose from the noose_

* * *

**_Chapter Two: Discovering New Friends_**

_7 Hours Later_

_3:31 PM_

_Derry, Maine_

The second that 'Back in Black' finished blaring through Emily's headphones, Charlotte had turned onto Witcham Street. This made the young girl take them off of her ears as she leaned forward in her seat. She saw that the trees looked beautiful and that the street they were turning onto seemed very suburbian but peaceful.

Emily smiled as they pulled into the driveway of their new house. Her mother saw this and didn't smile. She grinned instead at the look on her daughter's face. "Don't you love it?!" she exclaimed. "What do you think?"

The young pre-teen looked at Charlotte and smiled even more, taking a good look at the house now. It was a small but two-story suburban house that seemed perfect for them. The outside had different shades of grey paint covering it, and it looked beautiful.

"It looks gorgeous, Mom!" she said happily, leaning across to hug Charlotte tightly. The woman laughed at this response as she hugged her daughter back. "I'm glad you love it," she replied.

They eventually pulled away and got out of the car. Emily went to the trunk and opened it. She took a moment to look around the nice neighborhood, admiring its beauty. The houses were stunning for a small town, which made her wonder how her mom could afford the house they had just gotten. But then again, Charlotte had a lot of money, but she didn't spend it as much as some people would.

Emily shrugged as she leaned inside for a moment to grab her two suitcases. She heaved them out of the trunk, put one of them down, and closed it. Before she picked the other one up, she looked ahead to see a boy that looked about six-years-old playing outside next door. Well, it was a nice day for the Autumn season, so it made sense.

The little boy did have a light coat on as he played in the grass. Emily couldn't help but smile at the sight, finding it adorable. A part of her wished to be a little kid again, but she knew that wasn't possible.

Emily then had the nerve to look slightly to her left. And she saw another boy on the front porch of the house next door. He actually looked like he could be her age, which did interest her. She could see that he had light brown hair and that he looked like a kind boy. He seemed friendly enough, and she wanted to get to know him. As friends, of course.

But she needed to start unpacking, so she picked up her other suitcase and walked towards her front porch. She spared another glance at the two boys, however, and the boy around her age was looking at her. He gave her a wave and a smile. Since she couldn't wave, she just nodded and smiled back.

"Hey, Billy!" the little boy shouted. "Is that our new neighbor?!"

"G-Georgie, be respectful! Sh-She needs to unpack," the older boy replied. Emily chuckled a little as she entered the house.

And that was the first time Emily Boleyn saw Bill Denbrough.

* * *

Emily lightly tossed her suitcases onto the new bed that sat in the middle of her room. Charlotte had told her that there was already furniture in the house, and sure enough, that was true. There was already a couch and rocking chair in the living room, a dining table with four chairs in the dining room; the extra chairs were for guests. And there were beds in their rooms.

The young girl opened her suitcase full of clothes and pulled them out. The clothes consisted of several short-sleeved and long-sleeved T-shirts, blue jeans, shorts, skirts, and dresses. She almost always wore casual clothing, so in her closet, she hung the nice clothes in the back with the hangers that Charlotte had just bought.

She then got her books out of her other suitcase and placed them on the shelf at the top of her closet. Emily left one of them, _To Kill a Mockingbird_, on her bed as she did this, planning to finish it later when she had the time. Feeling satisfied with how the room looked after she had put a brand new sheet on her mattress along with her favorite blanket, she jogged downstairs into the living room.

Charlotte was opening the window slightly so cool, fresh air could make its way into the new house. Emily didn't mind this as she plopped down on the couch, taking a long look around the beautiful room. Well, the popular girls that went to her old school would've probably found it hideous. But, to the young girl that was so unlike those people, it was gorgeous to her.

"We'll get an air conditioner closer to the summer, okay?" Charlotte informed her. Emily nodded with a small smile on her face. She leaned her head back against the soft cushion of the couch, appreciating how comfortable it was to her. And that was when she remembered something.

"Mom?" she said, not moving her head from the couch.

"Yeah, honey?"

"There's some kids that live next door. I saw them when I got out of the car. They were two boys, one of them was my age, I think. The other one looked like he could be five or six. Anyway, they looked really friendly, and I was wondering if I could meet them," she explained.

Charlotte tilted her head in thought, something she often did whenever something was on her mind. Her daughter already wanted to meet people around her age. But then again, this _was_ a new town that they were now living in. And the kids that Emily was talking about were their neighbors. So, finishing her thinking, she shrugged.

"I don't see why you can't meet them," she answered.

"Oh," Emily replied, her eyes a little wider than they once were. "I wasn't expecting that answer…"

Charlotte chuckled a little bit. "What did you expect me to say?" she asked, her tone one of slight surprise.

"Nothing, really," Emily said, "I was just expecting more of an argument. I thought you would tell me that we just moved here… something like that…"

Emily's mother shook her head as she now laughed. "I wouldn't say that. It's great that you want to meet someone your age. I just hope that they're nice. In fact, you can go meet them right now if you want."

The pre-teen nodded slowly as she stood up from the couch. "Do you need any help? I mean, I can wait until later to meet them. Is there anything I can do right now?"

Charlotte shook her head. "No, no. Go ahead, go meet them, sweetie," she replied in a chipper voice. "Let me know how it went, though."

"Okay then," Emily said, her voice a little wary as she opened the front door and stepped out of the house. Feeling how chilly it was outside, she hugged the jacket that she was wearing to herself as she walked down the porch steps. She trekked across her front yard and over to the neighbors' lawn.

As she walked up the front stairs of the nice house, her hand gripping the wooden railing tightly, she all of a sudden felt a little nervous. The two boys that she had seen earlier were no longer outside, so she could only assume that they had retreated into the warm indoors.

What would the family think of her whenever she introduced herself? Would she be able to make friends? Or would she be left as a lonely person like she always was? Well… there was only one way to find out…

Emily raised her right hand and knocked on the door.

* * *

Bill Denbrough was eleven years old, and he _was_ known as 'Stuttering Bill.' But his speech impediment would worsen in exactly a year from now.

He wasn't sick, unlike the countless amount of times he had fallen ill during the fall season every year. Instead, he was perfectly healthy, as well as his little brother, Georgie, who was six at the very moment. And he was currently in his bedroom after school, while his brother was in the living room, watching their mother, Sharon Denbrough, play the piano.

Bill was, in fact, thinking about the unfamiliar girl he had seen a little while ago. She must've been the new neighbor, seeing as she and her mother had suitcases with them. He had heard that they were getting new neighbors the week prior, and to be honest, he couldn't wait to meet them.

Maybe he could go over tomorrow and meet the new girl. He was going to let her settle in, though; he didn't want to disturb his new neighbors.

Bill was sitting on his bed, writing in his composition notebook about something totally random. His love for writing had seeped into his life when he was a lot younger. Weirdly enough, that was around the time his stutter had begun when he had gotten into a minor car accident. Sharon had believed that the occurrence was the cause of his speech impediment. His father, Zack, and Georgie were not so sure, however.

Bill's stutter was light, however. Sometimes, he didn't even stutter at all. Very rarely would it get really bad, which he was grateful for. But that didn't mean that he wasn't bullied on a daily basis for how he spoke. He was especially targeted by the Bowers Gang. He didn't know any other reason why except for that.

But he at least had his best friends that were always by his side. Little did he know of just how close the Losers' Club would become in a year and a half from today…

The young boy's thoughts were broken by a knock at the front door. He lifted his head up and got out of his bed. He opened his bedroom door to know who was at his home. He could hear footsteps downstairs as he stood in the doorway.

"Hello, you must be the new neighbor," he heard his father say.

"Hi," someone replied. It sounded like someone around Bill's age. Could it have been the girl he saw a little while ago? He immediately perked up in excitement of meeting someone new.

"Yes, my mother and I just moved here from Indiana," the girl continued. "My name is Emily, and I thought I should meet some new people. I noticed that you had two sons. Is that correct?" she asked.

"Yes, we sure do," his father replied. "We have our oldest, Bill. I'm sure you're both the same age. And we have a six-year-old named Georgie."

Bill continued to listen as he tilted his head in interest. "Well, I'm all for meeting people my age," 'Emily' said. "Is it okay if I meet them?"

"Sure," Zack answered. Bill immediately perked up in slight surprise. This girl actually wanted to meet him and his brother, and it made him feel like he was a normal person.

"Bill! Georgie!" his dad called up the stairs. "Can you boys come down here? There's someone here who would like to meet you!"

That was when Bill moved from the doorway and out into the hallway. At that moment, Georgie stepped out of his room, having come upstairs in the past few minutes. The small boy gave his older brother a confused look. "Who wants to meet us, Billy?" he asked.

Bill shrugged. "I think I m-m-might know who," he replied. Georgie's face brightened majorly as they walked down the stairs. "Oh, is it that girl we saw earlier?" he asked enthusiastically. "The new neighbor?"

The eleven-year-old boy laughed a little. "M-Maybe," he suggested.

When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Georgie broke into a sprint, but Bill grabbed his arm and held him back. "No running," he told him. The small boy's face fell but he nodded nonetheless.

Within seconds, the two boys reached the door. And sure enough, the new neighbor stood in the entry hall. Zack wasn't there anymore, so it was just the three kids. Bill was able to look at this girl more closely as Georgie greeted her happily.

"Hi!" the little boy said. "Are you the new neighbor?"

The girl seemed a little overwhelmed by Georgie's happiness, but she smiled nonetheless, kneeling down to his level. "Why, yes I am!" she replied. "What's your name?"

"Georgie!" he replied, jumping up and down for a moment.

Bill noticed that the girl had waist-length, dark brown hair. She had a soft and kind face, with dark blue glasses framing it. Her hair was mostly straight but it was slightly wavy. He had never seen a girl with such long hair, but it was beautiful despite this. He also noted that her voice sounded very mature for her age, but it still contained a slight squeak in it.

The girl finally looked at him and stood back up. "Hi, I'm Emily Boleyn! I'm guessing you're Bill?" she asked.

He nodded, giving her a polite smile. "I'm B-Bill Denbrough," he confirmed.

Emily, meanwhile, noticed that the boy in front of her had a stutter. It shocked her a little bit, she wasn't expecting this. But she smiled, since she found it rather adorable. "Well, I'm Emily Boleyn," she replied. "My mother and I just moved here from Indiana and I felt that I should meet some new people."

Bill tilted his head in slight thoughtfulness. The girl had moved from the midwest to Derry. He didn't know why she would move here of all places since, in his honest opinion, Derry wasn't the best town in the country. In fact, it was a personal prison filled with awful people. His parents, Georgie, and his friends were an exception to this.

He snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Emily again, smiling. "W-Well, welcome to Derry," he said kindly. "I'm pr-pr-pretty sure you'll fit in quite nicely with us."

Emily's smile grew slightly wider. "Thanks," she replied. There was a brief silence, and then she pointed out the door behind her. "Well, I just wanted to drop by and say hi. I think I'm gonna head back home now," she added. And she turned around to leave.

"W-Wait!" Bill called out as she was preparing to step off of the front porch. Emily turned around and gave him a confused look. "Yes?" she replied as politely as she could, although she was very lost.

Bill was suddenly very shy, as he was talking to someone completely new. This was something he went through often, and it always ended with the people pitying him more than actually seeing him as a person. Well, she seemed nice enough, so he might as well try to be friendly. "Is… Is it okay if I show you a-a-around Derry? Y-You know… Like, show you th-the school or something…?"

There was a small moment of silence before Emily gave him a small smile. "Sure, I'd like that. I need to know where the school is, anyway. Can't get lost on the first day, right?" she replied.

He laughed at her joke, calling to his dad that he was going out for a little bit. He then got his shoes from beside the doorway, slipped them on and closed the front door. He jogged down the porch steps and gave Emily a kind smile. "Y-You ready?" he asked.

She nodded and they set off down the street. They began talking and getting to know one another. A bond was easily formed between the two. A platonic bond that surprised them by happening so quickly.

Emily was a fan of 80s horror films like Bill himself was, which shocked him the most. He even learned that although the girl was shy, she was willing to be herself around people that she seemed to trust. And it looked like Bill himself would be one of those people, which made him feel relieved. He also felt as if he could trust her, mostly because of how kind she was. She was so polite that it surprised him.

"A-And this is the public lib-library," he said, pointing the the somewhat large building. He saw a grin form on Emily's face which also made him smile.

"I love libraries," she gushed, staring at the building in wonder.

Bill chuckled a little bit out of slight amusement. "I can t-tell," he replied. "You look like some-someone that loves to read."

Emily shot the boy a small smirk. "Hope you're not teasing me, Denbrough," she said in a snarky tone. This made Bill's eyes widen in panic.

"N-No," he said frantically. "I was just saying that you-you love to read. I can tell fr-fr-from your p-personality. It's great that you like reading."

"I'm just joking, Bill," Emily assured him, now reduced to laughter. The boy next to her sighed with relief. "I know what you meant. Sorry if I scared you."

Bill shook his head. "No, I just th-tho-thought you were being serious," he stated. Emily laughed even more at this, running a hand through her hair. "I tend to joke around with people," she informed him.

"Well, I'll keep…" He sighed in annoyance. His stutter could get really bad sometimes. "I'll keep that in mind," he finished. "Sorry."

"Don't be," Emily told him. "Sometimes it's difficult to get words out. It can be really annoying." Bill nodded and she gave him a smile. "Besides, I think your stutter is adorable," she added.

Bill turned away for a moment with a smile. When he looked at Emily again, his face was flushed with slight embarrassment. "Th-Thank you," he replied.

They stayed there for a moment in silence. It was peaceful and comfortable, but the two kids knew that they couldn't stay like that forever. But just as Bill opened his mouth to speak —

"B-B-Bill!" an obnoxiously loud voice cut in. "What are you doing at the _library_?!"

Emily jumped slightly and looked behind Bill, just in time to see someone jumping off of his bike. She could see that it was a boy around their age with curly black hair and glasses that made his eyes look huge. It was sort of amusing to the girl, but she didn't say anything. Bill, however, looked very annoyed.

"Sh-Shut it, Richie," he snapped.

"You know that you almost _never_ go to the library," 'Richie' snarkily said, ignoring Bill. They he caught sight of Emily and paused, and she could see his eyes widen a little in shock. They a smirk formed on his face.

"Ooohhh, Bill!" he teased, playfully punching the boy's shoulder. "Who's this hottie?" Emily laughed slightly, turning away out of utter embarrassment.

"Richie, w-would you please sh-shut up?!" Bill shouted. "She's new to D-Derry."

Richie nodded slightly. "Oh, well, I apologize, my lady," he said to Emily in a terrible British accent. She laughed a little as she extended her hand. "I'm Emily Boleyn. Just moved here from Indiana," she introduced herself politely.

The boy with the glasses took her hand and shook it, putting his other hand over it. Emily was questioning over whether he was trying to be polite or just joking. "I'm Richie Tozier, trashmouth of the Losers' Club," he replied formally.

Emily tilted her head in slight confusion. "I'm sorry," she said, "_Losers'_ Club?"

Bill laughed a little as his nodded. "It's-It's what many kids like to c-c-call us. Two other people are in it, Eddie a-a-and Stan," he explained. Emily nodded with a small smile. "Can I meet them tomorrow?" she asked him. Bill nodded.

"S-Sure," he replied. "Who knows? We-We may even accept you into th-th-th… into the club."

Emily's smile grew into a grin. "I would love that," she said.

"We would, too," Richie said excitedly. "After all, who _wouldn't_ want a hot girl like you in our club?!"

"B-Beep Beep, Richie," Bill said in an irritated tone. At Emily's lost expression. "J-Just something we usually say to make him sh-shut up," he added and she nodded.

"I see," she said. "So, Bill… are you gonna show me the rest of the town or what?" she asked.

Bill nodded. "Yeah, of-of course," he answered. He took one look at Richie and relented. "Fine, tr-trash-trashmouth, you can tag along. _No funny business_," he warned.

"I can't promise that, but okay," Richie said happily as the three strolled down the street. It turned out that he wasn't that bad after all. Emily noted that he was actually a nice kid once you got to know him, but he often hid that side of himself by cracking stupid jokes.

She thought to herself that she might have just walked into a never ending friendship.

Little did she know of the horrors that were coming their way...

* * *

**A/N: You know...**

**FINALLY, I GOT THIS CHAPTER DONE! :)**

**Sorry I delayed this one for a while, but I still hope you enjoyed it!**

**What did you think of Emily's first interaction with Bill and Richie? Was it good? Let me know!**

**Okay... I wasn't going to ask this, but what the heck! Who do you want me to pair Emily with? I will abide to your wishes! Honestly, I do want to pair her with someone I want to pair her with! But, I might make it up to you guys!**

**Was this chapter great? Would love some feedback!**

**Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Love you guys to death! Please read and review! Favorite and follow! Have a great day, and until next time!**

**— Hermione Romanoff**


	3. An Uninvited Gang

**DISCLAIMER: IT IS OWNED BY NEW LINE CINEMA AND WARNER BROS STUDIOS! I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING EXCEPT FOR MY OC!**

**A/N: Well, it's taken me a lot longer to update this story that my other one. But that's perfectly fine with me. I hope that's okay with you guys as well!**

**Also, ONE MORE MONTH until my sequel to Dealing With Being a Loser! WOO-HOO! I'm currently working on that as well as this one, and I can't wait to start that on January 4th!**

**_SuperSentai199: Yes, you are correct, my friend! And I will announce who Emily will be paired with at the end of the chapter! There are SO MANY Richie/OC stories though lol_**

**_PetuniaViolet: Thank you so much!_**

**_LostBoys453: That is true. There are not a lot of Stan/OC stories. That's a great idea! I've only found two lol But thank you anyway!_**

**_ .2019: Thanks! And that's an interesting idea!_**

**_Guest: Thank you!_**

**_Angryfanfic: Well... you'll have to wait until the author's note at the end of this chapter to find out!_**

**_Special thanks to SuperSentai199, PetuniaViolet, LostBoys453, .2019, Guest, and Angryfanfic for either favoriting/following or leaving a review on the last chapter!_**

**Now, without further ado, here is the third chapter!**

* * *

_Everybody knows where you go when the sun goes down_

_I think you only live to see the lights of town_

_I wasted my time when I would try, try, try_

_'Cause when the lights have lost their glow, you'll cry, cry, cry_

* * *

**_Chapter Three: An Uninvited Gang_**

_Wednesday, October 28th, 1987_

_7:15 A.M._

Emily jerked awake as she heard the sound of her alarm clock blaring loudly. She groaned to herself as she blindly slammed her hand onto the clock. That didn't work, so she turned it over and turned it off. She then plopped back down on her bed and stared at the ceiling for a long moment.

Today was her first day of attending Derry Middle School. She was really dreading it, since she was the new kid. She knew that there was a high chance of bullies coming after her; Bill and Richie had told her that they themselves were bullied on a regular basis.

Emily had met Eddie Kaspbrak and Stan Uris the day before. They were both really nice boys when she got to know them. Eddie was a hypochondriac and had a mother that obsessed over his health, while Stan was a Jewish kid that attended synagogue often with his family. She was very polite to the both of them, which was something they were not expecting but they appreciated it.

And now, Emily would have to enter the world of torture once more because of school. The word sounded nasty on her tongue, since she hated — no, _despised_ school.

But, she was willing to get out of bed and get ready. Besides, Bill had assured her that if any bullies tried anything, he and the other boys would be there. Emily had responded by saying that she didn't need anyone to protect her but Richie had said that they didn't care. This made her feel much more accepted and welcome to the town of Derry, especially considering that the boys considered her part of the so called "Losers' Club."

Emily got out of bed and walked over to her closet. She opened it and took out the clothes that she had set out for the day. She pulled them off of their hangers and she changed into them. She then went to the bathroom and brushed her teeth until they felt clean to her. She ran a hairbrush through her hair and put a small part of it into a bobby pin. Then she looked at her appearance in the mirror.

She was dressed in a semi-pretty dark blue T-shirt with a white cardigan over it. She wore that with a sky blue skirt that extended past her knees and it led to black slip-ons. She honestly dressed like someone that went to private school, but it was the prettiest she could honestly look.

Breakfast with her mother was quiet and peaceful. She happily wished her daughter good luck at school. Emily thanked her, secretly hoping a good day was upon her. She was the type of person that good luck liked to escape from.

Charlotte left first to start her first day at the newspaper office. After she left, Emily went into the living room and sat down on the couch and examined the room. Eventually, she was left staring into space and she knew that she needed to walk to school. She checked the clock that hung up on the wall. _7:35,_ it read.

Well, she at least she had time to get there. She got up from the couch and went to the front door. She grabbed her backpack before stepping out of the house and into the slightly chilly weather. She hugged her arms to herself and then held her backpack straps, just in case some jerk were to come by and rip it off of her shoulders.

The light wind blew some of her hair out of her face as she walked pretty quickly. She had a tendency to have a light skip in her skip whenever she was walking anywhere, even if she was with people. Then again, many other people were probably just like her in that regard.

Emily looked around each neighborhood as she passed through several streets. She admired the beauty of the trees and house. It was especially gorgeous around the fall season, and she reveled it like no other.

She then got her Walkman out of her backpack pocket and put her headphones on. She pressed Play and immediately heard the familiar music of Johnny Cash's _Cry Cry Cry_ soothe her subconscious. As she stepped onto the sidewalk in case any cars passed by, she quietly sung the lyrics to herself.

Emily honestly thought she had an awful voice, although her mother constantly denied this and told her the exact opposite. Despite this, she always sang songs to herself, _especially_ songs that she so desperately loved.

Did she memorize each lyric to her favorite songs? Oh, my yes. Emily knew every single word to every single song, and she felt as if it were a talent.

In other words, there was sometimes nothing else Emily could do but sing. Singing was her escape from the horrors of the real world.

The wind got slightly gustier as the young girl strolled around the corner of Neibolt Street, not knowing that she and her friends would face It in the creepy house in a year and a half.

Emily froze just as she saw that house for the very first time. Never before had she seen a house quite like it. Sure, back in Indianapolis, there were several dilapidated houses that she had seen; they _had_ creeped her out a lot. But not like _this_ house did.

It looked as if it had been abandoned for a hundred years. The wooden structure seemed as if it would cave in soon, but Emily didn't know how soon that would be. All of the windows were gone, and the weeds outside were overgrown. A chain-link fence surrounded the two-story house and it eerily reminded her of the Myers house from _Halloween_.

A chill ran up and down Emily's spine as she stared at the house. It looked extremely uninviting to her, and she did not want to step one foot inside. But she at least didn't see any scary monsters crawling out of there, although she imagined it was infested with spiders and rodents.

After several seconds, Emily forced her feet to keep moving and she kept walking down Neibolt Street. She made the smart decision of not looking back at that house as she put one foot in front of the other.

* * *

The school was nowhere near as nice as the one in Indianapolis. Of course, Emily never had the time to tour inside of the school, so she didn't know what to truly expect. It wasn't the nicest school on the outside, but the inside looked as if it were trashed by many students. The walls were painted white on the top and light green on the bottom. The lockers were a sickening dark green color. She had seen that outside was a generic sign that screamed the words 'Derry Middle School' in black. The words were surrounded by a bland yellow color that made it contrast greatly. The school definitely did _not_ have a good first impression, although the boys had warned Emily that the school was awful.

But, Emily was new, so her mother had advised her to go to the receptionist to pick up her schedule and other information. It would be strange for her since it was halfway through the first semester of school; she herself had found it particularly odd when new students arrived weeks and weeks after the first day of the school year. Well, now she was one of those students, wasn't she?

Yes, yes she was.

But except for her new friends, Emily couldn't trust anyone in her line of vision. She was probably just being paranoid. Or maybe she really wasn't.

She entered the office, which looked a lot nicer than the rest of the school. Well, _that_ was a first. Emily walked up to the receptionist and cleared her throat politely. The woman glanced up and shot her a kind smile.

"Can I help you?" she asked in a sweet voice.

Emily looked at her for a long moment. She was an average height, blonde woman in her early to mid fifties with no glasses. The latter was more shocking to the young girl; receptionists almost always wore glasses. She looked to be a caring figure, and her manner made her visibly relax.

"Yes, ma'am," she said, her voice still somewhat shy but made sure that she sounded clear and well hear. "My name is Emily Boleyn, and I just recently moved here. I'm a new student at your school."

The woman raised her eyebrows at first, but then grinned after a second. "Oh, that's right!" she said cheerfully. She then extended a hand and Emily shook. "Well, welcome to Derry Middle School! My name is Ms. Keller and I have your schedule and extra information right here." She handed Emily two sheets of paper and the young girl took them gingerly.

"Thank you, Ms. Keller," she replied kindly, giving her a timid smile.

"Now, if you need any help to get to your classes, just ask someone and I'm sure they will help you," Ms. Keller informed her. Emily nodded, deciding not to tell her that she already had friends at the very last second, instead telling her to have a good day before leaving.

"Have a great first day at Derry Middle School!" the receptionist called after her enthusiastically. Emily chose to not turn around as she continued to stroll down the hallway, her Walkman long since stuffed into her new backpack and forgotten. She noticed that some of the students stared at her but others simply minded their business as she passed them. She would duck her head when she someone that did stare, not that she really cared. She figured that this was how they would react to her.

Emily reached her locker after a few minutes and worked out the combination from the slip of paper she had been given almost instantly. She opened the sleek metal door and zipped open her backpack, taking her notebook, binder, pencil pouch, and novel out and stuffing the bag into her locker. She slammed the door shut just in time to hear a very unfriendly voice.

"Well, well, well… What do we have here?"

The tone of the voice made Emily freeze and stop what she was doing, her hand on the locker. It sounded teasing and a very uncomfortable thing to hear. The person that had just spoken was definitely male, that was for sure, but he sounded as if he wanted to intimidate her.

Emily slowly turned around, trying to appear as if she wasn't a little frightened at all. She saw a boy who looked about a year older; he must've been held back a year. He had dirty blonde hair that was somewhat slicked back and it reached his shoulders. He seemed to have an evil smile on his face as he stood mere feet away from her.

"Look at this, guys," he sneered. "It seems that the new girl decided to go to school here after all…"

The young girl rolled her eyes as she gave him an irritated look; he seemed to be an idiot. "Uh, what school did you think I was going to?" she spat back, a bit of fire in her voice as she spoke. "Jesus, you're too stupid to notice that I go to the same school you do. Now, if you'll excuse me…"

Emily tried to walk past the boy, but he took a step to her left, blocking her path. "Ooh, she's feisty. I like it," he taunted. That was when Emily spared a glance behind the bully to see three boys accompanying him. One was wearing a grey tank top and he had cropped, platinum blonde hair. One looked overweight and always wore a cap in the stupid, formal way. And finally, the last one looked somewhat deranged with black hair that nearly reached his shoulders.

To be honest, the last one she noticed intimidated Emily the most as she kept trying to move past the one that was in her way. She sent him a glare, but he didn't back down.

"Say, new girl, why don't you hang out with me and my little friends after school today?" he asked her, almost sounding seductive. Emily decided to play along briefly as she shot him a fake smile. "Sure," she replied, sounding overly cheerful.

The bully seemed temporarily shocked as he said, "Really?" The word was slightly drawn out when it was spoken. Emily nodded energetically.

"Sure…" she said. Then the smile dropped completely, replaced with an expression of disgust. "In your dreams. Now, I need to get to class, and I have no time to be dealing with jerks today." She shoved him out of the way and tried to keep walking. She then felt a hand on her arm and she was jerked back, earning a yelp from Emily.

"You ain't going nowhere," the bully snarled. But before he could do anything else —

"Bowers!" a fellow male teacher called out. "Get to class!"

The boy whose name was supposedly 'Bowers' actually let go of Emily's arm. "You better watch yourself, _new girl_," he threatened in a low voice.

Emily froze and the bullies walked away, laughing hysterically.

The young girl was quick to run from her locker. She was actually able to track down her first period English class fairly quickly, but unfortunately strode into the room a minute late.

"Sorry," she said shyly to the teacher. "I just got lost." Obviously, that was a lie.

Fortunately for her, the teacher, whose name was Mrs. Lloyd, didn't pry any further and only told her to take a seat in the only empty desk in the classroom. Emily could feel eyes boring into her soul as she sat in the back row. She plowed down into the chair, putting her supplies in front of her. She got out her pencil and quietly tapped the eraser against the wood.

Emily had the guts to look around and she saw a girl sitting beside her. The girl had a kind face, accompanied by flaming red hair that reminded Emily of fire. She was very pretty, a hundred times prettier than she herself was. The girl turned to her and gave her a polite smile, which she returned before quickly turning back to the front to pay attention to Mrs. Lloyd.

* * *

School in Derry was just a bit more tolerable than how it was back in Emily's hometown.

But that wasn't a great thing. School was still painful.

English class was a decent start to the day after her run-in with the bullies in the hallway. The class had been assigned to read _One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest_, and the plot had really interested Emily. But then again a lot of books did. Science class was dreadful, and she spent a majority of the hour sketching a random house; her drawing skills weren't impeccable, but they were good at least. Pre-Algebra was not as bad, so she sort of paid attention. And finally, History was the best class of all.

But before the last two classes was lunch. To be honest, Emily was looking forward to getting out of class for 25 minutes. But then, she would have to go back to the world of boredom, and she was not looking forward to that.

She entered the cafeteria and she was lucky that barely anyone stared at her. She went through the lunch line and got a piece of pizza and chocolate milk before going to sit at a table by herself.

The pizza was absolutely disgusting and she threw it down on her tray. Just as she did, she saw a few people sit down in front of her. She glanced up to see Bill, Richie, and Stan giving her smiles. She smiled back.

"Hey, guys," she greeted kindly, taking a sip out of her chocolate milk carton. She decided it tasted decent.

"What's up, Emily," Richie replied. "Ready to ditch this little prison already?"

Emily tried her hardest to not choke on her milk as she giggled. "I wish, Tozier. At least it's not as bad as it was in Indiana."

Stan gave her a smile. "Well, at least you'll get used to it after a while. Anyone give you a hard time?" he asked. He was one of the taller boys in the Losers' Club with even curlier hair than Richie's hair, although it was dirty blonde.

The young girl hesitated, but before she could open her mouth to answer, Eddie sat down beside the boys. He was clearly the smallest kid in the club with normal dark brown hair and kind brown eyes. He looked to be the most vulnerable boy she had ever laid eyes on, even with the obsession over his own health.

"Well, yes actually…" she murmured. But, unfortunately, the boys could still hear her.

"Who g-g-gave you… who gave you a hard time?" Bill asked, looking concerned.

Emily was grateful for Bill. She hadn't even known him for three days, and she already considered him a brother figure to her. She knew that she could tell him anything, but that didn't stop her from hesitating. But she answered nonetheless. "Uh… there were four boys by my locker this morning. They harassed me but I told them to back off… Only a teacher could make them stop…"

The boys understood who she was talking about instantly, as they all looked either annoyed or irritated. "Bowers," Eddie growled under his breath.

"That's his name?" Emily asked. "The boy with the blonde hair?"

They all nodded in response. "B-B-Bowers always gives us a hard time," Bill explained simply. "He probably picked on you because you-you're the new girl…"

"Want me to beat him up for you?" Richie offered with a smirk. "Because, count on me, I can do it pretty easily!"

Emily smiled. "Beep beep, Richie," she warned playfully. "And no. I can handle myself and I don't want anyone getting hurt. Plain and simple."

Richie pretended to sulk, which made all of them laugh. Then Stan leaned forward slightly. "Well, let us know if he does anything else. We can all handle him," he assured her.

"Thanks," Emily replied shyly. "Boy, you guys sure know how to handle bullies, don't y'all?"

"We're the Losers' Club!" Eddie declared triumphantly.

Richie gave his best friend a high five before turning back to Emily. "Yeah, and we can beat any bully up! Am I right, boys?!"

"L-Lower your voice, Richie," Bill warned him. Emily laughed at the banter between them.

And that was how lunch went. The young girl conversed with the boys as if she had known them for years. Several times she found herself glancing at Stan. He certainly interested her. It might have been because of how kind he was or because he was particularly polite to her. Either way, she talked to him like normal. It was probably nothing anyway.

Emily knew that these boys weren't just her friends. They were her new family.

* * *

**A/N: You know me!**

**THIRD CHAPTER IS DONE! YAY!**

**Sorry it's taking me longer to write this story than my other one. I'm too busy writing THREE other stories (including my sequel) and I have school, which FREAKING SUCKS!**

**Guys, I'm just a teenage girl that writes crappy stories to entertain myself and you all! But I know you appreciate my stories, so I keep writing for you, because you make me happy!**

**What did you think of this chapter? Was it entertaining?**

**Emily just ran into the Bowers Gang! Uh-oh!**

**And also, since this is rare with IT fanfictions, this will be a Stan/OC! Sorry if you guys wanted something. I will be writing more stories where an OC is paired with every male of the Losers' Club, MINUS Ben!**

**Anyways, be looking forward to the next chapter! I hope you guys enjoyed this one! Please favorite/follow! Read and review! I love you guys to death! Have a great day, and until next time!**

**— Hermione Romanoff**


	4. Losers Being Losers

**DISCLAIMER: IT IS OWNED BY NEW LINE CINEMA AND WARNER BROS. STUDIOS! I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING EXCEPT FOR MY OC!**

**A/N: I know what you guys are thinking... I am so sorry that I haven't updated this story recently. School got in the way and I had a little bit of writer's block with this chapter. But I managed to get it done.**

**Merry (belated) Christmas! I hope you guys had an amazing one!**

**Also, spoilers for the original Friday the 13th! The plot twist is mentioned is in this chapter, so proceed with caution.**

**Also also, EIGHT MORE DAYS until Losers Stick Together begins! I'm sure you guys are hyping that up, aren't y'all?!**

_**LostBoys453: Thank you so much! And of course! It will be a slow-burn, so I hope you're happy with that!**_

_**SuperSentai199: Thanks! And I thought so, too!**_

_**Angryfanfic: I do that when anyone leaves a review.**_

_** .2019: Thanks! And I already answered your question in a PM, so you know.**_

_**robinmuffins: I'm glad you're interested. So happy you liked Dealing With Being a Loser! I do have one face claim for Emily and I will explain below.**_

**Guys, I need your help! I need a face claim for Emily as a kid! I already have one for her as an adult and I will reveal it in the next chapter! But can you please leave a suggestion in your reviews! That would be much appreciated!**

_**Special thanks to LostBoys453, SuperSentai199, Angryfanfic, .2019, and robinmuffins for either leaving a review or favoriting/following the last chapter!**_

**Now enough rambling! Without further ado, here is the long delayed fourth chapter!**

* * *

_I will twine, I will mingle my raven black hair_

_With the roses so red and the lilies so fair_

_And the myrtles so bright with its emerald hue_

_The pale emanita and the hyssop so blue_

* * *

_**Chapter Four: Losers Being Losers**_

_Three Hours Later_

_After School_

The second Charlotte heard the front door open and close, she instantly perked her head out of the kitchen doorway. She saw Emily walk into the living room and flop down on the couch, and she noticed that her daughter looked exhausted.

_Oh no, I think I've killed her,_ she thought as she chuckled to herself. She stared at the girl who was yet to move from her position on the couch.

"Are you asleep?" she asked, tilting her head to the side.

"I'm not asleep," Emily replied in a muffled voice.

"Then what are you doing? You usually greet me after school," Charlotte continued.

"I'm lying on the sofa and trying to sleep," the pre-teen replied snarkily.

"I got that part." The woman began laughing hysterically as Emily finally sat up, glaring at her mother. "What's wrong?" she asked between chuckles.

Emily groaned loudly as she put her face in her hands. "School sucks and I want to die! Prepare my funeral please! I want petunias on my casket, thank you…" She then laid back down on the couch, but pretended to be a dead body.

"Okay, that's enough," Charlotte said, laughing even more as she walked over to the young girl, grabbing her arms. "Come on, get up." She pulled Emily up and made her look at her. Charlotte saw that Emily's eyes were dropping slightly, but knew that she was just being dramatic. "Was school _really_ that bad?" she asked her.

Her daughter giggled a little. "No, not really," she replied in a genuine voice. "My friends were there so it wasn't so bad. At least school here isn't as bad as it was back in Indiana." This news made Charlotte a little relieved as she nodded.

"Well, it seems that you have really nice friends… Even if they are boys," she said slyly.

Emily looked at her mother and saw the smirk on her face. At first, she didn't understand why she looked at her like that. But, seconds later, she finally realized as her eyes widened. "Mom, no!" she exclaimed, and Charlotte laughed. "I've only known them for a few days, and I don't like _any_ of them! And even if I did, I would need to get to know them first! They're brothers to me, I swear, though…"

Charlotte shook her head. "I'm just messing with you, honey," she assured her. "It was just a stupid joke. I know you wouldn't do that."

"But the classes are so boring, except for maybe History. The other classes, though…" Emily pretended to throw up, which made Charlotte playfully hit her daughter. "Oh, you'll get over it!" she told her. "I do remember school, though… It was awful…"

"Then why do _I_ have to go?!" Emily questioned with her eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Because you're my daughter and I said you have to."

Emily wanted so badly to yell, but knew that it would take things further than her and her mother's light banter. So, instead, she kept her mouth closed but looked down in defeat.

"Now," Charlotte said, "do you have any homework?"

"No," Emily replied a little too quickly, and at her mother's skeptical stare, she rolled her eyes lightly. "Fine, I do…"

"Then go do it," Charlotte ordered playfully.

Emily looked at her with wide eyes. "It's not even due until next week, I have plenty of time to do it!"

"Well, if you do it _now_, then you'll have a lot more free time. I'm making a point, right? Now go to your room and do your homework. I'll let you know when dinner's ready," she told her.

The young girl sighed dramatically. "Fine," she breathed out in an exasperated manner before grabbing her backpack and going upstairs. She entered her bedroom and plopped down on her bed. She laid there for a long moment, before giving up and taking her folder.

And, despite the fact that she didn't want to, she started her homework.

* * *

_She felt his arm snap her head to the left as her father hit her harshly in the face again. This was the first time that Emily didn't cry out in pain at the action. She had screamed every other time before this; but she was older and things were different now._

"_Where were you?!" Tom asked her in a tempered voice as she walked through the front door after getting home. Emily didn't tremble in fear or whimper at his tone of voice. Instead, she stood perfectly still as she stared at her father with steely eyes. _

_Emily had learned to keep herself under control whenever Tom was abusive, which was pretty much everyday. Sometimes (and it was very rare), he would be alright towards her. But again, it was very rare. Almost always would he hit her, but she was used to it at this point, even though it hurt every time. It pained her that her father could be this way, but he had always been a horrible person._

_Charlotte had taught her to hold her ground whenever he hit her, and she obeyed her mother's words as she glared at Tom with cold eyes._

"_I was just staying after school to help my teacher with some stuff," she replied calmly, although she would've usually been cowering. "Is that a problem?"_

"_You should've called home and told me or your mother!" Tom continued to yell._

_Emily scoffed and walked past her father, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her back to where she was facing him again. His eyes were full of more anger and it really did scare the young girl, but she tried her hardest not to show it._

"_I'm not finished with you yet, young lady," Tom said in a low and frightening voice._

_Emily swallowed a lump in her throat. Her mother wasn't home yet, so if she could at least get away from her father for a little while, that would be a relief._

"_Dad," she began in a quiet but strong voice, "please let me go. I have to go do homework…" _

_But Tom's grip on her arm tightened as he got more furious. "Not until I'm done with you, Em!" he said._

_The young girl jerked her arm out of his hand and she back away from him, tears welling up in her eyes. "Look, Dad! I'm sorry I didn't call home to tell you! I forgot, okay?! Just let it go so I can do my homework!" She then ran for the stairs, her father hot on her heels._

"_We're still not done with this talk, Emily!"_

_Those words echoed in her head multiple times as the then nine-year-old girl slammed her bedroom door shut and locked it. Immediately, her father began banging on the door, bellowing her name. She covered her ears and finally allowed for the tears to flow as she sunk down to the floor in the corner of the room. She sobbed quietly as she felt the subconscious walls begin to break once more._

_She had tried her hardest to put them back together, but like that fairy tale, _Humpty Dumpty_, she couldn't fix it. She never could when she was around her father. It was almost as if she was unfixable, and she loathed it with a passion._

_All of a sudden, the door opened, a massive force behind it. Emily looked up to see Tom standing there with a look of livid rage on his face, and she couldn't hide her fear this time. He just stood there in the doorway, his eyes drilling into her soul as she started to cry even more._

"_I'm gonna teach you a lesson," he said in a stern and eerily calm tone, taking a step into the room. Emily backed away from him, but her back was pressed up against the wall behind her, and that was when she realized that she was cornered._

_But then she started noticing that the room was getting darker with each step Tom took to get closer to her. At this point, she could barely see him as he approached her, raising his hand to strike her once more._

"_You do not back talk me or run from me!" Tom yelled, bringing his hand down to hit the poor girl again._

Emily nearly fell off of the bed as she woke up. She managed to grip the nightstand before she could fall, gasping for breath. She clutched her chest, feeling her erratic heartbeat thumping against her left hand. She felt lightheaded for a second, her vision blurring slightly before becoming clear again.

The young girl sighed with relief, laying her head on her pillow, laughing the stress of the situation off. It was only a nightmare. A stupid, memory-based nightmare that she did dream of once in a blue moon.

But things had been different in this dream. The end was something that had not happened to her. But it still felt so… so _real_, almost like she was actually living out the horrific night. She rubbed a hand over her forehead, trying to relieve herself of the headache that lingered in her brain. It was painful but not like the migraines she had to go through at least once a year whenever she was sick.

Emily got out of bed, quickly looking at her alarm clock, which read, _6:47 P.M,_ and opened her bedroom door. She could smell dinner on the stove as she walked to the bathroom, turning on the light and opening the medicine cabinet. She took a bottle of medicine and downed a single pill, swallowing it with the help of water. That would help the headache.

"Sweetheart, dinner's ready!" Charlotte called up the stairs the second Emily put the bottle back in the cabinet.

"Coming, Mom!" Emily replied, closing the cabinet and leaving the bathroom.

She ran a hand through her hair as she jogged down the stairs and walked into the kitchen. She saw Charlotte setting a large plate of mac & cheese on the dining table, as well as mashed potatoes. Emily smiled at the sight of the food just as her stomach growled, which her mother noticed and laughed slightly at. Emily laughed as well before pulling out a chair and sitting in it.

They put the food on their plates and ate in peace. All the while, they discussed Emily's school day further, and she decided to tell the truth and bring up the bullies. Charlotte was instantly worried, but the young girl managed to calm her down soon afterwards.

"Well, if they try anything else," Charlotte said, "you tell a teacher or principal immediately."

Emily sighed quietly. "Mom, they're probably not gonna do anything," she replied in an exasperated voice. "If they actually put a stop to it, then I guess that's avoiding a cliché…"

Charlotte rolled her eyes, but she wasn't mad. "Let's not compare real life to films we've watched, okay, sweetie?"

The young girl nodded. "Okay, Mom."

* * *

_Friday, November 13th_

_Two Weeks and Two Days Later_

Emily had gotten used to going to a new school over the following weeks since moving to Derry. The Losers' Club had helped majorly with that, especially when she was having difficulties with the other students either annoying her or bullying her.

She had really grown close with the boys, and was now looking at them as brothers. Of course, there was also Beverly Marsh, the red-headed girl that she sat beside in her English class. But, she was a little scared to speak to her and try to be friends with her. She was worried that the girl's nice side was just a phissad, but little did she know that they would become close friends in the following months.

All of her teachers treated her well and looked at her like any other student, but the students? Not so much.

The infamous Bowers' Gang targeted her more than the other Losers, especially considering that she was the newest member of the group. But the boys always stood up for her and protected her from them. Stan, in particular, had a protective nature over Emily which did surprise her. She felt as if she were closer with him than the others, but it was probably because he was very nice to her. Of course, the other boys were nice to her as well, but Stan was definitely like an older brother to her.

Little did she know of how that relationship would change within the following year.

But there was also Greta Keene, the mean girl of the school. She had a reputation for being a bully to nearly every other girl in the entirety of Derry Middle School. It was the worst whenever it came to Beverly Marsh, since the poor girl was rumored to be promiscuous. Emily didn't believe the rumors, being a person that didn't judge a book by its cover instantly.

Greta Keene targeted Emily almost instantly after she saw her. The young girl didn't know why, but she got the message that she needed to stay away from the female bully. Greta Keene was the closest to being as terrorizing as the Bowers' Gang as she could. But Emily secretly wasn't scared of her at all. In fact, every time the older girl bullied her, she was quite annoyed, but she chose to ignore her. She wasn't worth it, anyway.

Today was going to be a fun day for the Losers. It was Friday the 13th, and according to the boys, they would always have sleepovers where they would watch the cheesy slasher flicks on this particular day. Emily had laughed when they told her this and immediately promised that she would join them that evening. They said that none of them had seen the first movie, and this made the girl smirk, since she had seen it.

She couldn't wait to see their faces when the ending happened. But that was when she remembered that she had fallen asleep right before the ending.

Crap.

After the school day ended, the young kids barely managed to avoid the Bowers' Gang as they walked out of the building. When the boys reached their bikes, they all laughed at how stupid it all seemed.

Emily didn't have a bike yet, but she did ask her mother to get her one for Christmas. So she either walked alongside Bill as he rode his bike home, since they were neighbors, or she rode on Stan's bike with him. Neither of the boys ever minded, as long as she wasn't alone as she went home.

Whenever she walked home, she would get very cold since it was close to winter. But, when she was on a bike, her long brown hair would be tousled by the chilly wind, and it felt pleasant. Also, it meant that she could get home quicker.

Today, she chose to ride on Stan's bike so she could get home quickly and get ready for the sleepover. He didn't mind, making sure he wasn't going too fast as he turned sharp corners and sped through intersections. She held on tightly, despite the fact he wasn't even going that fast, just in case she fell off and hit the pavement. There were a few times where they laughed when the bike lost control for a split second, but they never got into accidents, which was a relief to both pre-teens.

When they got to Emily's house, he helped her off of the bike and she thanked him like always. He smiled at her in response.

"Uh, would it be alright if I meet your mother?" he asked quietly, sounding a little anxious. "Like, be the first friend to meet her…"

Emily grinned, nodding at the idea. "Sure, I don't see why not," she replied, and he looked relieved. They both walked up to the front door and she opened it without hesitation. She then noticed that Stan lingered in the doorway longer than she did, so she turned around. "Mom, I'm home!" she called out. "I have a friend who would like to meet you!"

"Okay!" Charlotte called back, and they both heard footsteps. Emily giggled slightly at Stan's face, but gave him a friendly pat on the arm. "Hey, it's okay," she assured him. "She won't bite, she's very nice."

Stan nodded and silently thanked her. He was a little awkward around people he didn't know well and he wanted to make a good first impression. If Emily weren't by his side, he would've easily chickened out and went home. But, he was choosing to be brave for his best friend.

Seconds later, he saw a woman that looked almost identical to Emily walk into the living room. If it hadn't been for her slightly aged face, he would've mistaken her for the girl right next to him. She had a warm smile on her face as she extended a hand.

"Hello, young man," she greeted in the kindest voice. "I assume you're one of my daughter's friends?"

He nodded, still slightly intimidated. Meanwhile, Emily was as calm as could be. "Mom, this is my best friend, Stanley Uris," she said, turning to him. "Stan, this is my mother, Charlotte." Stan extended his own hand out and shook the older woman's. "Nice to meet you, ma'am," he said politely, which caused Charlotte to grin at him.

"You're so polite," she said, turning to her daughter. "Can we keep him?" she joked, which caused all three of them to laugh as Emily shook her head lightly. "As much as you wish we could, Mom, we can't," she replied through her laughter.

"Well, we can't get everything we wish for, can we?" Charlotte said, and they all laughed even more. Emily then calmed down and remembered why she had truly called for her mother. "Actually, Mom," she started, "my friends are having a sleepover tonight and they were wondering if I could come over. I mean, if that's okay with you…"

Emily's mother took a minute to think of her answer to the question, and she stood there, patiently waiting with a

_(anxious)_

blank look on her face. And she was secretly relieved when Charlotte nodded.

"Of course you can, honey," she answered and Emily smiled at her. "Thanks, Mom," she said in a grateful tone. Then, she turned to Stan. "I'm gonna go pack some stuff." She then walked away and went upstairs.

As she entered her room, tossing her backpack onto her bed, she could hear Stan having a conversation with her mother as he waited for her. A small smile creeped onto her face as she felt a weird

_(happy)_

feeling inside of her while she put two pairs of clothes into a spare duffel bag she had. Her possible closest friend was so nice to people he had just met, especially adults. But she didn't mind the fact that he was a little more laid back when he was around his friends, and he wasn't afraid to be his true self. Strangely, Emily was the same way, and she had only been friends with the boys for just a few weeks. But she already considered them family and she could always be herself around them.

Emily considered the fact that it was the best thing that had happened since she had moved to Derry.

She finished packing her clothes, toiletries, and even a book and one of the _Friday the 13th_ films the boys didn't have. She zipped up her duffel bag and left the room, not forgetting to switch the light off on the way. She jogged down the stairs and saw Stan and Charlotte lost in conversation. She politely waited for them to finish talking before she cleared her throat.

They both flinched slightly and they turned to her. "Are you guys leaving now?" Charlotte inquired.

Emily nodded as Stan walked over towards her. "I'll be back by noon tomorrow, Mom," she informed her. Charlotte then got up off the couch and hugged her daughter. "Be safe," she told her. "I love you, sweetie." She then pulled away and kissed her on the forehead.

"Love you, too, Mom," Emily replied as she walked to the front door. Stan held it open for her, and she thanked him as they both left, but not without her saying goodbye to her mother again.

* * *

"So we're watching the first one right now?"

Emily laughed a little. "Obviously, Richie," she replied. "Got to start with the first one, of course!" She took said movie out of her duffel bag and went over to the TV, sliding the VHS tape into the VCR.

All of the kids had met up at Richie's house for the sleepover, and they had prepared pallets or sleeping bags on the floor, while Richie would be sleeping in his own bed. Emily had packed blankets to make her own pallet, and after she fast-forwarded through the previews and pressed Play, she sat down on her blankets, the boys on either side of her as they began watching the movie.

25 minutes passed and the scene where the camp counselors killed the snake was on the screen and all of the kids laughed at this silliness.

"I'm pretty sure if I ever saw a snake, I would kill it in seconds," Richie said smugly. This caused the others to look at him, all of them with eyebrows raised. Stan especially looked annoyed.

"Yeah right, Rich," he remarked. "No, you would be the first person running away, not killing it because you're a big wimp." Richie gave him a mock glare as he turned back to the screen, pretending that the Jewish boy didn't say anything at all. Emily gave Stan a look of amusement.

"I actually would be the first to run," she said truthfully. "I _hate_ snakes. They only freak me out because they can kill you, not because of how they look, though."

Stan nodded in agreement. "I would run, too," he whispered.

_In the movie, Alice was gathering a few of the pots and pans she and the other counselors had used for cooking burgers. She also grabbed a couple of the dishrags and towels and put them into one of the pots. _

_Then she walked to the pantry door and opened it. On the other side of the door was Crazy Ralph._

Emily looked around and saw the boys jump slightly, and she stifled a laugh.

_Alice shrieked and backed away from the pantry, dropping the pots and pans on the floor, making a large crashing sound. Crazy Ralph stepped out of the closet-like room, staring at the young woman with a fearful look on his face._

"_I'm the Messenger of God," he croaked out. "You're doomed if you stay here…"_

"I mean, he's right, b-b-buh-but he just sounds crazy," Bill pointed out and the others agreed. Eddie nodded along with what he was saying.

"You have a point, Bill," he replied. "They should listen to him, though."

Emily smiled at the two boys. "I love how you guys are trying to make sense of this movie. You _know_ the characters aren't gonna listen to him," she stated. This made the boys nod again.

"See?" Richie exclaimed. "The only girl has common sense!"

"Beep beep, Richie," Eddie said quietly and they all shared a laugh.

They stayed relatively quiet throughout most of the movie, reacting a little to each of the death scenes. The especially grimaced when Kevin Bacon got an arrow through his neck and when Marcie got the axe to her face.

But when the plot twist happened, all of them except for Emily were very shocked.

"_Oh, my sweet… innocent Jason," Mrs. Voorhees said sadly, and some clips of the little boy in the lake drowning played on the screen._

"_My only child… Jason…"_

_And the little boy went under the water, never to be seen again._

"You _let him drown!" she yelled. "You _never _paid any attention!"_

_She then got out her hunting knife and charged at Alice but the young woman hit her with a fire poker and escaped._

"Surprised?" Emily asked the boys with a smug smile on her face. They all looked at her with wide eyes.

"You _knew_ about this?!" Stan asked, mocking his outrage, and she laughed more than ever as she nodded. "I told you boys that I saw this movie before y'all."

"Were you suh-surprised when it happened?" Bill asked. She nodded.

When the big jumpscare where the young Jason jumped out of the lake and grabbed Alice, all of them nearly ran out of the room. Emily let out a small shriek, and Stan gave her a pat on the shoulder as a form of comfort. A strange

_(why do i feel happy that he did that?)_

feeling filled her subconscious as he did so.

After the movie was over, the young kids got even more snacks and watched the rest of the six movies and they had loads of fun.

It was a moment of happiness and innocence that Emily was sure that she wouldn't forget.

* * *

**A/N: Aww wasn't that nice! Some sweet moments between Emily and her mother, as well as more with her and the Losers!**

**Canon will officially begin in a few chapters, so stay tuned. Also, Emily and Stan's relationship will be a slow-burn, so I hope you guys are happy with that.**

**Thoughts on this chapter? Was it as good as the others? I thought it was.**

**Another thing, I suck at dream sequences, so just roll with it haha**

**Are you excited for Losers Stick Together, the sequel I've been hyping up for months? ONLY EIGHT MORE DAYS! Leave some of your thoughts of what you think will happen in the sequel within your review! I would love to see them!**

**It is past one in the morning as I'm posting this. I need to sleep, so goodnight, guys! Have a great day, and until next time!**

**\- Hermione Romanoff**


	5. An Unexpected Turn of Events

**DISCLAIMER: IT IS OWNED BY NEW LINE CINEMA AND WARNER BROS. STUDIOS! I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING EXCEPT FOR MY OC'S!**

**Forewarning: Two major time skips in this chapter and this is when canon FINALLY begins! The plot of the 2017 movie starts at the end of this chapter!**

**A/N: Okay... I need to explain why I haven't updated in so long. It has been over two months since I updated this story, and I have two reasons: 1.) I was busy writing Losers Stick Together. 2.) I had writers' block on this story lol That's it.**

**But we finally have the fifth chapter and canon officially starts here! EEEEEE! I can't wait to begin writing the major scenes from the 2017 films! :D Also, while editing the final scene of this chapter, I was (and still am) listening to the score for John Carpenter's 'The Fog.' The music is so beautiful!**

_**robinmuffins: I suggest you check out an updated version of the first chapter, where I have written down the ENTIRE cast for this story! And I appreciate you being patient for this new chapter, which you are finally getting!**_

_**SuperSentai199: Well, they ALMOST ran out, so they kind of didn't. But it was still funny XD**_

_** .2019: :)**_

_**Angryfanfic: Check out an updated version of the first chapter and you'll find the entire cast!**_

_**MusicLover14: You're finally getting more of Queen Emily! Also, and I know I already explained this, look up Danielle Harris from Hatchet 3 and if you find an image of her covered in blood and with a shotgun, that will solve the mystery of who that is on the right of the cover. That is Emily as an adult! And, once again, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!**_

_**Special thanks to robinmuffins, SuperSentai199, .2019, Angryfanfic, and MusicLover14 for leaving a review on the last chapter!**_

**Now, without further ado, here is the sixth (long awaited) chapter!**

* * *

_Hail (hail)_

_What's the matter with your head, yeah_

_Hail (hail)_

_What's the matter with your head_

* * *

**_Chapter Five: An Unexpected Turn of Events_**

_June 17th, 1988_

_Seven Months Later_

The clock that was mounted on the wall in the history classroom seemed to not care about the impatient actions of the kids sitting at their desks. They kept staring at the object as the hands moved extremely slowly, the seconds ticking by as if they lasted a million years. Mrs. Douglas, usually the strictest of teachers, made no effort to quiet the students' excited chatter. Perhaps she knew it would have been impossible.

"Children!" she spoke up five minutes before the final bell was supposed to ring through the school building. "May I have your attention for the final moments of class, please?" When the talking and groans ceased, she nodded. "Thank you," she added.

A now twelve-year-old Emily Boleyn was sitting in the middle of the classroom as she listened to Mrs. Douglas talk. Even though the woman that was in her late-fifties was a little difficult with the other kids at times, Emily really loved her and considered her the best teacher she had ever had; she could care less what the other kids thought. And, as the middle-aged woman droned on and on about report cards, the young girl twirled a lock of her brown hair.

Emily was now considered a normal girl at Derry Middle School, even though she was still a loser. Even though she still earned that title, she was considered one of the most good-looking girls of all of them behind her back (meaning she never knew about this). The boys in the Losers Club knew about this piece of information, but they absolutely refused to tell her this, as neither of them wanted anything to start up again.

Nearly eight months had passed since she moved to the small town, and Emily was growing more accustomed to it. She supposed it was because she had very close friends by her side and she couldn't thank them enough for helping her get through the rest of the school year. Of course, she still had to deal with the regular problems of the Bowers Gang and Greta Keene, the latter most likely because she was jealous of how pretty the brown-haired girl was; but she didn't really care anymore. She had dealt with so much more in the past, _including _bullying, so this was nothing to her. She just took it like it was an average day during an awful week.

"Now please some up as soon as I call your name," said Mrs. Douglas. "Paul Anderson… Carla Bordeaux… Emily Boleyn… Calvin Clark… Cissy Clark…"

As she called their names, Emily quickly got up and journeyed to the front of the room, but not before glancing at Stan and Eddie, who were also in the class. They gave her hand gestures of their fingers crossed; it was a way of saying, "Good luck." She smiled at the two as she approached her teacher, her waist-length brown hair bouncing up and down against her back. She had decided to not wear it in a ponytail, although she should've. It _was_ the summer after all, but she always tended to do this. She honestly thought her hair looked better when it was down and, although she didn't know this, her friends thought so, too.

"It's been a pleasure having you this year, Emily," Mrs. Douglas said as she handed the young girl her report card.

"Thank you, Mrs. Douglas."

A mocking falsetto wavered from somewhere at the back of the classroom: "Sank-ooo Missus Douswiss."

It was Henry Bowers, of course. Unfortunately, and much to Emily's major annoyance, the jerk was in the class with her, and he intentionally sat behind her so he could bother her more. Luckily, Emily had the patience of an average adult, so she always ignored the older boy. It used to take very little to make her snap but, now, it took so much more to tick her off and, if she were honest, that was a good thing. Nobody liked to see Emily Boleyn when she was angry; that was what everyone had come to learn over the eight months that had gone by.

Her blood boiled, but she didn't yell at Henry like the others were expecting her to. Instead, while Mrs. Douglass wasn't looking, she locked eyes with the Bowers kid and lifted her right hand, not afraid of showing him her middle finger. "Shut up, jerk," she whispered in an irritated voice. After this, she sat back down as if nothing had happened at all. When she did, she saw that Eddie and Stan were trying to hide their chuckles as they gave her high fives.

"Now, I hope you all have a wonderful summer," Mrs. Douglas concluded. Much to Emily's relief, the woman was not one of those teachers that would bombard the students with questions about what they would do over summer vacation; she seemed to be respectful of the kids' personal spaces and privacy. It was yet another reason why Emily loved her as a teacher: she wasn't annoying. So, it made a swell of respect bubble up inside of her.

Suddenly, she saw a finger tap her desk, and she rotated a little to face Eddie. He was holding up his index finger as he scribbled something on a post-it note. She tolerantly waited for him to finish writing as she glanced back towards the front of the classroom; she luckily didn't have to wait for long as she pretended to pay attention (which was something she did every now and then), because Eddie hurriedly handed her the slip of paper after he got done writing.

The note read: _"The others and I are going down to the Barrens after school? Wanna tag along?"_

It wasn't the first time Emily had made a trip down to the Barrens with her boys. They had introduced her to the beautiful area two months ago when the weather was starting to get warm again, and she loved it instantly. It was awesome whenever she would go with them, and now it was an everyday thing for them. So, she gave Eddie a confirming smile and nodded her head.

"I just need to head home to drop my stuff off," she added, and Eddie gave her a thumbs up, as well as Stan.

Emily then opened her journal that her mother had given her for Christmas; turns out Charlotte had bought it a week before they left when they had both gone to Hawkins, Indiana to get some stuff for their new house. She wrote in it whenever she felt like it, and this day was no different, as she grabbed her pencil and started jotting words down on a blank and fresh sheet of paper.

_Friday, June 17th,_

_Nothing much happened today… I would only say that the good part about this particular Friday is that it's the last day of school! I'm so happy, because school freaking sucks. Another awesome thing is that my friends and I are going down to the Barrens after school lets out. I'm gonna have to go to my house before, however. I'm a little worried to go all by myself, but I'm sure I'll be okay. I've got my pocket knife, after all, so I should be okay… I think. Anyway, summer's starting and I'm excited! That's pretty much it._

_\- Emily_

And, just as she finished writing down her thoughts, the bell finally blared throughout the school, signaling the start of summer break. Her heart jumped with excitement as she got up with all of the other kids; she was quick to wrap her arms around her books and other supplies she carried with her to each class for eight months. She snuck a glance to the back of the classroom, and saw that Henry Bowers had not moved once, and he was staring at her with an evil malice in his eyes.

Emily was barely fazed by this at all, but a bit of fear settled in her heart as she glared back at the bully. And, because of this, after five short seconds, the girl took her supplies and escaped the classroom, grateful to God that Bowers hadn't. Who knows what could have happened if she had remained in that classroom for longer than five seconds? She knew it would have been something bad; she was sure of it.

She caught up to Eddie and Stan in the hallway (thankfully, they hadn't gotten very far away from the classroom) as the students piled up by their lockers. "Wait up, guys!" she told them. "Jeez, don't leave me behind with all of the other slaves!"

Stan chuckled as he looked at Emily; little did the girl know, he was actually growing quite fond of her as time passed by. "Don't worry, Em," he assured her. "We won't abandon you." This made them both lock eyes for a small moment as they smiled in amusement. Then the two started to laugh along with Eddie while they approached Bill and Richie, who were busy cleaning out their lockers. After a second, the latter noticed the three walking towards them and a smile of humor formed on his face.

"Oh, look who we have here!" Richie joked, dramatically gesturing to the other three. "Stan The Man, Eddie Spaghetti, and Queen Emily have finally decided to join us!" He then bowed to them, which made Emily laugh hysterically as Eddie swatted the back of his head.

"How many freaking times do I have to tell you, Richie?!" Eddie exclaimed, his eyes piercing Richie's soul like daggers. "_Stop_ calling me Eddie Spaghetti!" Emily looked at Bill and they both rolled their eyes at the banter, since it happened _all the time_.

"Aww, but I thought you loved it, Eds," complained Richie as he ruffled Eddie's hair. This seemed to annoy the boy even more, and he slapped his hand away. But he didn't say anything in response. Emily smiled as she watched the two, even if she was a little annoyed at their arguing, which was something that was pretty common for both Richie and Eddie.

After they had all gotten their backpacks out of their lockers, Emily turned to the four boys that were with her. "I'm gonna head home and drop my stuff off there, and I'll meet you boys at the Barrens," she announced casually. "Sound good?"

While three of the boys nodded, Stan lowered his voice and spoke only to her. "Are you sure?" he asked in a concerned tone. "I just want you to be okay…"

Emily managed to ignore the small amount of heat growing in her cheeks as she gave the boy a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "You're sweet, but it's nothing to worry about, Stan," she told him. "I've got a bike now, so I can get there quicker… I'll try to be safe." The young girl tried to hide the falter in her confident tone, but she was lucky that Stan didn't notice. And, with that, she bid farewell to the others and turned to walk away.

Her long and white skirt fluttered against her slightly bony legs, her hair blew behind her and thudded against her back and shoulders very lightly, and her brown eyes that were sealed by her glasses were focused on the front doors of school as she walked forward. As she opened the doors, a feeling of happiness and relief settled in her mind; knowing that she was leaving the school for at least three months relaxed her greatly. She walked over to the bike lot, just barely spotting Beverly Marsh hanging out by one of the trees. The redhead was smoking a cigarette, which was one of the things she was known for and it made Emily giggle a little.

Emily smiled as she raised her right hand and waved at Beverly. The slightly taller girl seemed a little surprised that someone would give her a polite greeting, but she returned the smile and wave anyway; she then went back to smoking.

Afterwards, Emily reached the bike her mother had gotten her for her 12th birthday back in January, getting past the lock and freeing it from its restraints. The bicycle was a dark blue color, the black seat ever so slightly faded from how much she had used it since she had gotten it. It was surprisingly pretty fast for a bike, but she was able to handle it quicker than she thought she would've. And it was also beautiful to look at; it felt like her new best friend and she loved it immensely.

She hopped on the bike, which she had named the '_T-800_,' and she started pedaling, pushing one foot in front of the other. Emily had a little trouble with figuring out how to ride a bike but, after a little help from the boys, she got used to it very easily, and she was now able to journey around the town of Derry with them without having to ride on the back of one of her friends. And, right now, her legs remained in motion as her thoughts stayed on the moment, admiring the wind brushing against her soft and kind face.

Her long brown hair tousled behind her as she kept on pedaling, thinking about the fun and games that were going to occur when they went to the Barrens. She was beaming a little at the thought, failing to notice a blue car speeding towards her.

It all happened very quickly.

One moment, Emily was moving around a corner, her thoughts focused on the road, and then she looked to her left. She saw the car and she shrieked, pedaling faster than ever; she knew who was behind the wheel of that car. But, she also realized that her quick movements were a mistake almost instantly, since she was speeding towards a sidewalk. She struck it, which made the bike tilt over and she fell onto the ground. She felt her skin scraping against the concrete, and she grunted in pain, clutching her leg when she stopped.

She immediately heard the car door open and she was quick to get to her feet, trying her best to collect her bike before something went wrong. But she wasn't even able to grab the handles of it before she felt a hand grab her shirt and she was forcefully pulled backwards. And, although she attempted to fight back, the hand let go of her seconds later and she hit the ground. She tried her best not to show any signs of weakness as she struggled to get back up.

"Why do you always have to be such a princess, Boleyn?"

Emily looked up to see Bowers standing there, and she could tell right away that he was very ticked off. Even though she knew that she had crossed a line, she chose to not comment on it like she would've normally done. She quickly made eye contact with the older boy before diverting her glance; she regretted it, since she saw Victor Criss, Reginald 'Belch' Huggins, and Patrick Hockstetter exit the car, which made her heart kick into overdrive. She knew that if she even tried to run, they would easily catch up to her, and she didn't want to think of what would happen if they did.

"Oh, I know I'm a princess…" she replied snarkily, her glare not moving from Bowers in the slightest. "But that doesn't give _you_ the right to call me one… especially when you have such a bad mullet that even the Lost Boys would be ashamed!"

The young girl was unfortunate to be only a few feet away from Bowers when she said this, since he grabbed her seconds later, his hands holding her arms by her sides. Emily tried to struggle, but it was no use; if only… if she could only take her red pocket knife out of her jeans and use it to defend herself from these assholes.

"Well, you seem to not wanna talk about how promiscuous you are for hanging out with those losers," sneered Bowers in response as she struggled to break free from his grasp.

Emily chose the only card she had left to play: she leaned her head back, clearing her throat, and she spit all over his face. Bowers flinched a little in shock; he was very surprised that she would make this move. Maybe she _was_ a fighter after all, and he hated it. So, because of this, he lifted his right hand and slapped her across the face in anger. The young girl stared back at him, barely reacting to the hit, although her eyes were slightly wide. He didn't notice.

Emily immediately had flashbacks to when her father had abused her as a child and, although she didn't show it, she couldn't help but be slightly afraid at that moment. She didn't even have to specifically pinpoint those days in the past in order to remember them; she actually wanted to cower in fear right there, but she bluntly refused, her chocolate brown eyes burning with loathing and hatred as she glared at the older boy. She was ready to defend herself, literally lifting her leg to kick him where the sun didn't shine, when she heard a voice.

"Let go of her, Bowers!"

The girl glanced to her right to see something that both relieved her but sent a flow of panic through her at the same time. It made her stop her struggle with Bowers and freeze in place as she stared ahead, her muscles tensing up.

Stan, Bill, Richie, and Eddie were standing there with furious looks on their faces; she could see that they also looked scared, but they were doing a pretty good job of hiding it, much to her surprise. Stan looked the most brave out of the four, and it made Emily really happy knowing this. It seems as if she were right about him being worried for her safety, since she was running into a little trouble at the very moment. Coincidences at their finest.

Henry didn't listen, as expected, but just tightened his grip on Emily's arm. She tried her best not to grimace in pain at this, and managed to do so without any problem. "Oh, well well well," Bowers chuckled, tugging the girl further, which made her glare at him. "Looks like the four girly boys decided to show up to save their princess. Well, sorry. Too late, now back off while I give this good-for-nothing a piece of my mind." He then turned back to Emily, raising his hand to smack her again.

"You better luh-lower your hand, Bowers, or we'll b-b-beat the crap out of you ourselves," snapped Bill, his tone one of fury and annoyance as his eyes drilled into the boy.

This made Bowers lower his hand and scoff at the boys. "What are you Losers gonna do about it? Why do you even hang around this twat to begin with, she's a cold-hearted -"

Stan's calmness broke as he stomped up to the older boy and grabbed his arm, his fingers digging into the skin. Emily stared at him in surprise as a ghost of a smile formed on her face; her brown eyes locked with his sienna ones for half a second before he looked at Bowers again.

"She is not promiscuous," he growled angrily, no fear in his voice whatsoever. "And she is not a twat… now take your freaking hand off of her arm, or I'll do it myself." His face was stone cold and furious, and Emily couldn't help but feel proud of him. But she took the chance to slowly inch her pocket knife out of her jeans so she could fight back. She appreciated the fact that her boys were helping her, but she needed to help herself every now and then as well.

What she wasn't expecting, however, was for Bowers to shove her away and she stumbled a little. "Get her, boys," he ordered, and Hockstetter grabbed both of her arms and held her in place. She wildly kicked around in his grasp, but it was no use; she was helpless as Henry went over to Stan and gripped his shirt, shaking him over and over. "Sure you'll do it yourself, flamer," he taunted. "Looks like you can't save your little girlfriend now, huh." He then took out his switchblade and Emily's eyes widened in horror as he lowered it to Stan's arm.

She then slipped her own knife out of her pocket and kicked Patrick in between the legs. He sank to his knees in pain before she instantly swung a good right hook to Belch's face, hearing a crack in his nose. She saw Victor run up to her, but she cut his arm with the blade she was holding, all the while grunting as she did. She then sprinted towards Henry, grabbed his left arm and twisted it, knocking his switchblade out of his hand. He cried out in pain, trying to get it back, but she had her right arm around his neck instantly.

Emily, seething with rage, pressed the blade of her knife up to the bully's throat. "You picked the wrong day to mess with my boys, you monster," she whispered, before lifting the knife and hitting him with the edge of it as she let go. Henry cowered away from her, but not before picking his switchblade up off of the ground, and he gave her a look of slight fear as he ran back to his car. She then glared at the other members of the gang, who stared at her with petrified eyes.

"You wanna party, too?!" she shouted in fury, stomping her foot at them, and they scampered away in a very Scooby-Doo like manner. She sighed with relief, visibly calming down as she wiped the blood off of the blade of her knife before closing it and stuffing it back in her pocket.

"Holy crap. Holy crap! We showed them!" Richie shouted, fist-pumping the air. And that was when Emily turned back to look at her friends, who looked more relaxed than she did. But she couldn't help but giggle when Eddie elbowed Richie.

"Both Emily and Stan showed them, Rich," Eddie corrected him. "But that's not what matters right now. Emily, are you o -" But the small boy was cut off before he could finish his sentence.

Stan ran up to her and hugged her tightly, which really surprised her and she reluctantly hugged back out of confusion. "Are you okay?" he asked frantically, checking to make sure she wasn't harmed. "Please tell me he didn't hurt you before we showed up, I'll freaking kill him if he did!" The entire time he said this, Emily was just looking at him in astonishment, failing to stop the heat from filling her cheeks as they turned a slight shade of pink. But, she kept it a secret as she shook her head, putting a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"I'm okay, Stan," she assured him. "It's my knuckles that hurt a little." She looked down to see a few bruises forming on her hand from where she had punched Belch, and she couldn't hold back a chuckle as she looked at it. She was impressed with what she did and it seemed like the others were as well, since they patted her on the back a few seconds later.

"That was a nice punch, Emily," Eddie complimented with a proud smile, although he still looked worried. "We're gonna have to get some ice on that bruise, though." Emily rolled her eyes slightly, but nodded anyway.

"Sure, Eds," she replied, and the worried look vanished from his eyes.

"You're okay, though, ruh-right?" inquired Bill, and Emily's head bobbed up and down in response.

Stan took her right hand and looked at it. "Let's go to your house and get some ice for you," he told her. "Is your mom home from work?" At her head shake, he continued holding her hand and they started walking. "Come on," he added, and she nodded. Little did she herself and Stan both know, she enjoyed the feeling of his hand being linked with hers as they strolled down the street, the other three behind them sharing knowing looks.

After a while, the five of them got to Emily's house and entered the front door without any trouble whatsoever. When they did, the girl went to the freezer and got an ice pack out of it, walking back to the living room and sitting on the couch next to the boys. She held it to her knuckles, starting to feel the pain dissipate from them, which made her sigh with relief. She couldn't stop the smile forming on her face as it faded.

A few seconds later, Stan tentatively took her right hand and removed the ice pack, examining it. "It doesn't look too bad," he confirmed, his voice very gentle as he said it. Emily nodded, not replying to his statement; she just stared at the very slight bruises that sat on her hand, _examining_ it, if you will. But she was also trying to hide the heat that was forming in her cheeks. "The bruises may go away in a few days," the boy next to her added, and she shrugged her shoulders.

"I won't lie," Bill spoke up. "Th-That was a pretty tough move…"

Emily laughed slightly, giving the boy a friendly smile. "Thanks, Bill," she replied.

"Boys, let's all hail Queen Emily!" exclaimed Richie, bowing dramatically, and all of them laughed hysterically. The girl reached across Bill and Eddie so she could playfully punch him.

"Beep Beep, Richie," she said sarcastically, although that smile never left her face.

* * *

_Four Months Later_

_Friday, October 14th, 1988_

Although Emily wasn't a fan of rain, she loved the sound of it.

It was mid to late afternoon in October, and it had been raining off and on for the past three days, practically flooding Derry. But it was slowly starting to pass, the clouds breaking and letting slight rays of sunlight peek through. But the water kept falling from the sky as if it were never going to end, and it surprisingly didn't annoy Emily as she walked home from school.

Raincoat covering her torso, the girl put one foot in front of the other on the sidewalk as she saw the road beside her become alive with more splashes than her eyes could appreciate. Together, they brought such a soothing sound, a natural melody, every bit as beautiful as a classic piece of music. It was as if earlier, the street had been a breathtaking photograph, and it was now an impeccable painting.

Emily did know that rain could also make you sick, so she never hesitated to grab her raincoat when she went to school earlier that day. She hadn't been sick in years, but she knew the horrors of having a cold, or the flu, and she definitely knew that it really sucked. So she shielded herself from the cold raindrops that dripped from the top of her hood like water normally would from the faucet of a sink or from the head of a shower. Not a single drop hit her skin, however, much to her luck.

Bill, however, wasn't so lucky. He had a _severe_ cold.

For the past week, he had been absent from school, and she and the other three instantly felt bad for him. Emily, although she wasn't very religious, was praying that he would get better in the future. In fact, she wasn't heading home from school straight away, instead heading to Bill's house right next door. She had thought about seeing him, checking to see if he was recovering from the sickness, like a good friend normally would.

Stan had to go to the synagogue after school, although he really wanted to walk her home. Emily had appreciated it, but she told him to do what he was supposed to do. Eddie's mom had picked him up, not wanting him to walk home, out of fear that he would get pneumonia because of it. Richie had offered to walk her home, but she declined, implying that she would be safe on her own.

And she then finally turned the corner of Witcham Street, seeing Bill's house come into view. A smile grew on her face… but it faded almost immediately afterwards, her mood dampened at what she saw in front of her.

There were two police cars parked in the driveway of the Denbrough residence, their lights flashing brightly as they revolved in the glass that covered them. Thankfully, the sirens weren't blaring through her ears; if they were, it would distract her from the peaceful song of the rain. But Emily was feeling anxious, knowing this couldn't be good news, and she started walking faster to the house. But it was when she heard Sharon Denbrough's hysterical sobbing that she full on sprinted to her destination, not caring if the hood of her raincoat flew off of her head.

By the time she got to the front steps, her hair was soaked and plastered to her face as she stared through the open doorway of the two-story house. She locked eyes with a police officer for a split second, but for that short period of time, she was able to recognize Oscar Bowers, Henry's father. She felt a little intimidated as she stood there, defenseless.

But she then reminded herself that Bowers's father was nothing compared to that monster, and she felt a little more at ease knowing this. But that didn't wash away her concern when she saw Bill's mother walk out the front door, her face buried in her hands, and she herself was now a little scared as she walked up the steps and put a hand on the woman's shoulder.

"Is everything okay, Mrs. Denbrough?" she asked, her voice as calm as she could make it, although the bad feeling remained in her chest like she was also sick. She ignored the eyes of the police officers nearby, only focused on the woman in front of her. She knew that nothing was okay right now, something was wrong, although she didn't know what it was just yet. She couldn't get rid of the voice in the back of her mind that sensed something terrible looming in the distance.

And, little did she know, there was a storm on the horizon. A storm that she wouldn't encounter for the next eight months.

Sharon snapped her head to her and gave her a look of desperation; she then took her shoulders and the tears vanished for a second. "Emily!" she cried out. "Please tell me you've seen Georgie somewhere! Have you seen him?!"

Emily froze, her entire body going rigid all at once. She just stared at the older woman, her eyes as wide as saucers, not able to move at all. Those words sent chills down her spine in the worst way imaginable as her hair stood up on the nape of her neck. She couldn't even feel her hands clenching into fists as she heard those words echoing in her mind like a skipping record. But, after a long moment, she slowly shook her head.

"No… I haven't seen him, I'm so sorry," she replied in the smallest voice she had ever used. And her heart ached when she saw Sharon begin to cry so much more, but she let her go, another destination in mind. She went inside, her mind set on the stairs as she trekked up them, her feet hitting the wood below her, a light _thud_ blaring through her eardrums each time. And she finally approached the first door to her right, lifting her hand.

She briefly turned her head to see the room behind her, and it was barren, with not a human in sight.

_Georgie's room._

And that was what made her knock on the door, her knuckles lightly tapping the barrier between her and her best friend. "Bill?' she called out softly, not wanting to intrude, but the voice in her head told her to go in there.

_He needs you right now,_ she thought, and she braced herself for what she would see when she opened that door. She was a little hesitant, but she dismissed that; she wasn't about to ditch this horrible situation, she was too determined to do so. She knew her best friend needed her at that moment, so she wasn't going to ignore the impulse deep in the back of her mind.

So, making a decision that would change everything, she opened the door and stepped into the room. And her heart instantly broke at what she saw.

Bill was sitting on his bed, a box of tissues beside him on the tousled blankets that covered his legs. His eyes were glassy, vacant, and blank as he stared at the wall. It was like he didn't even acknowledge Emily's presence in the slightest, but the girl was able to point out the watery tears that stained his cheeks, and it almost made her cry as well. Although he seemed emotionless, she looked right through his soul and she saw how broken he truly was on the inside.

"Bill," she whispered, "I'm so sorry."

"He's gone."

The tone was blunt and final, but the boy's voice cracked on every word and every syllable. Emily's heart was completely gone at this point as she slowly walked over to the bed, sitting next to him and giving him a look of disbelief; she was just plain shocked that he would say something like that. She slipped her backpack and raincoat off, letting them hit the hardwood floor.

"No, he's not gone," she replied, her eyes watering with her own tears, and her bottom lip started to tremble.

Bill snapped. "They found his b-b-b-bluh-blood in the street next to the g-g-g-gutter. The gutter wuh-where that stupid boat fell i-i-into!" he shouted. Emily flinched, visibly taken aback, since she had ever heard him yell like that before. "I let him g-g-go by himself, and now my l-l-l-l-luh-little brother is missing. Wherever he is, h-he's s-sc-scared and all alone…"

And that was when Emily pulled the slightly older boy into her arms and she held him, a few silent tears streaking down her cheeks. A loud sob escaped Bill's lips, and her heart broke again, but she just comforted him until night fell. She felt as if it were her job, and she accepted it like it was the most important thing in the world. She needed to be there for the boy that had formed her destiny for her and the Losers' Club. And she realized two things in that moment:

Little Georgie Denbrough, the small boy that she loved so dearly and cared for so much, was gone. And it was the first time she had cried in many years.

* * *

**A/N: Well... that took a turn... CANON FINALLY BEGINS! YAY! :D :D :D :D :D**

**That was sad, wasn't it? Georgie's missing... *cough cough* dead *cough cough* Sorry, something was in my throat!**

**Thoughts on this chapter? Was Emily's moment awesome? Was Stan a hero there when he defended her? Was the ending sad? Let me know everything!**

**Next chapter will be out sometime soon, I promise! DO NOT BEG ME FOR ANOTHER CHAPTER! I will get it out whenever I can!**

**I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Be looking forward to the next one! Have a great day, and until next time!**

**\- Hermione Romanoff**


	6. Eight Months Later

**DISCLAIMER: IT IS OWNED BY NEW LINE CINEMA AND WARNER BROS. STUDIOS! I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING EXCEPT FOR MY OC'S!**

**A/N: HAPPY FRIDAY THE 13TH, YOU BEAUTIFUL ANGELS! How is everyone doing today?! I was surprised I managed to get this uploaded on the infamous day where I'm going to watch slasher films with a guy that wears a hockey mask! :D**

**Anyways, new chapter! This is where canon TRULY begins and we get into the actual plot of the movie, so I hope you guys are excited! This chapter is just the school scene and an original scene that follows... a _Halloween _inspired scene. MWAHAHAHAHA! I hope y'all enjoy it!**

_**SuperSentai199: Thank you! I was proud of that scene as well! :)**_

_**Angryfanfic: Thank you. At least you're nice about it.**_

_** .2019: Thanks!**_

_**Meguhanu: Thank you so much! And I will certainly keep going! Glad you enjoyed that scene! :D**_

_**MusicLover14: I was referencing the 80s vampire movie, "The Lost Boys." And the second half of the chapter is in October lmfao! And yes, it is sad. HILARIOUS incorrect quote. I was rolling on the floor laughing! Hope you enjoy this chapter!**_

_**LostBoys453: Glad you enjoyed the last chapter! Also, THANK YOU for pointing out that epically stupid mistake I made with the names! I would have never noticed if you hadn't said anything lmao Glad you loved Emily and Stan's moment, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!**_

_**Special thanks to SuperSentai199, Angryfanfic, .2019, Meguhanu, MusicLover14, LostBoys453, and avatarange for either leaving a review or favoriting/following the last chapter!**_

**Now, without further ado, here is the sixth chapter!**

* * *

_Steve walks warily down the street_

_With the brim pulled way down low_

_Ain't no sound but the sound of his feet,_

_Machine guns ready to go_

* * *

**_Chapter Six: Eight Months Later_**

_June 13th, 1989_

_2:30 P.M._

The disappearance of Georgie Denbrough made the levity and happiness of the Losers' Club shatter like a frozen heart. All was now wrong with the world and the right had sunken like a stone does after skipping along water. And the five kids that were now teenagers were sure it would remain that way for a while.

And it did.

Emily had been sent into a depression after learning of the horrific and upsetting news on that rainy October day. Sometimes, when she didn't have school, she would never leave her room; she just sat on her bed, either blankly staring at the ceiling or drilling holes into her beige-colored wall with her vacant brown eyes. The tears weren't able to flow anymore, the pain being too much for her to visibly let them out. She had already shown them before, and she felt that the best solution was to barricade them in their own little prison. She had to be strong for her friends, for herself…

And, most importantly, Bill.

Obviously, Bill was taking the news very hard after Georgie seemingly vanished into thin air. He had refused to come back to school for the next week and a half, and Emily always went to his house to check on him. Truthfully, she was the only one the boy was able to talk to, since he trusted her the most; he didn't know that she had already been through enough pain in her life, but a completely different kind of torture. Although she hadn't suffered a terrible loss as losing someone very close to her, she knew how he felt, and she had stuck by his side for the eight months that followed since the tragic day.

But things didn't get any better since October. In fact, they got much worse.

On Christmas Day of 1988, Betty Ripsom had disappeared and her missing posters had been put up all over Derry the day after. A week later, her body was found, torn to pieces, a few miles away. Emily was deeply saddened, since the two of them were starting to get along before Christmas break began. The following month, ten-year-old Veronica Grogan had vanished and she was never found. In late April, three-year-old Matthew Clements was found dead on a constructed roadway, much to the horror of the town. The toddler's death made the police provide a strict curfew for the citizens of the town, but that didn't work. Children were still going missing left and right.

Emily didn't know if it would ever stop. She felt as if it would continue forever.

But it seemed as if the other kids in the middle school weren't paying attention to all of the missing children, since it was the last day and summer break was starting again. But, surprisingly, Emily was not looking forward to the two and a half months that would be spent outside of the horrid building. Sure, she hated going to school all the time, but it had been her escape from her sadness for the past two-thirds of the year. And, being away from that for a long period of time sounded like death was fast approaching her emotions.

Despite this, however, the girl was destined to make this summer the best for her and her friends. She, of course, didn't know that it would actually turn out to be the worst one imaginable. She was going to make sure that her friends had the time of their lives and were as happy as they could possibly be, and it was just to take her mind off of the depression.

She had hidden her sadness very well from Charlotte, although her mother was still worried about her after she herself had found out the horrific news. Whenever she was in the presence of the older woman, she planted a smile on her face and maintained her sarcastic nature. But it never always worked, although Charlotte never said anything about it.

The final bell rang, blasting through Emily's eardrums as she heard the ending of the school year arrive. She was quick to jump to her feet, gathering her supplies as fast as she could and barreling out of the classroom before anyone else could. She didn't run down the hallway but she was walking at a brisk pace, trying to find her friends; she wasn't able to see them over the swarm of people that walked around her or were standing in the middle of the hallway like the morons they were.

Emily stopped at her locker real quick, opening it and jerking her backpack out of it. She slammed the metal door shut and started jogging down the hallway, searching everywhere for the people she wanted to find. And, when she turned the corner, she saw three boys, two of them with brown hair and the other with black hair; they seemed to be deeply invested in conversation. Sort of not caring about this, the girl went up to them and planted herself in between Bill and Richie.

"Hello, boys!" she greeted, surprising them a little, but they all laughed as she slung both of her arms around the two boys in question.

"Hey, E-E-Emily," Bill greeted her with a genuine smile, and she smiled back.

"Why, oh, my God!" exclaimed Richie. "Queen Emily finally decided to join us!" The girl burst into laughter, giggling hysterically as she playfully smacked his arm.

"Glad to be of service, Tozier!" she replied as they continued walking down the hallway.

Bill then turned to Eddie, resuming the conversation they were having before Emily interrupted. "But how does it work?" he asked him, and the small boy had a slight grimace on his face as he opened his mouth to reply.

"They slice the tip of his dick off," he answered, throwing his hands into the air, and Emily's eyes widened in both confusion and surprise.

"Woah, woah, woah!" she yelled. "They do _what_ now? Because I think that's a sick joke!" She then let out an awkward laugh as she thought about the weird topic they were discussing.

"But then Stan will have nothing left!" added Richie, making Emily's face turn red when she realized who they were talking about and she zoned out.

In January, the girl had realized that she had feelings for Stan Uris after getting to know him a lot more. She knew that it was a little crazy since she was almost the complete opposite from him personality wise, and she didn't even know why she had formed a crush on the Jewish boy. It had all started when he had walked her home from school one afternoon five months ago, and she thought the gesture was so nice that she had blushed and her heart had skipped a beat. After he had left, she ran to her room and stared at the ceiling for hours, thinking about how this had suddenly happened to her.

All she knew was that she liked him, and she didn't know if she could tell him, since he didn't know everything about her.

"Wait up, you guys!"

_Great… right on cue,_ thought Emily as she turned around and saw a boy with neat clothes and dirty blonde, curly hair run up to them. Her cheeks turned even redder, but she ignored that, putting on an act as Stan reached them. Acting natural, which was her go-to, she patted the boy on the back. "Nice of you to join us, Stan the Man," she quipped, making him laugh and shoot a smile in her direction.

The only thing Emily didn't know about Stanley Uris was the fact that he had feelings for her as well.

"Hey, Stan," Bill got his attention, "what happens at the Bar Mitzvah, anyways? Ed says they slice the tip of your d-d-duh-dick off." Emily couldn't hold back a chuckle at this as they rounded a corner.

"Yeah, and I think the Rabbi's gonna pull down your pants…" Richie joked. "...turn to the crowd and say, 'Where's the beef?!'"

All four of them laughed, especially Emily, even though she smacked the back of his head.

"At the Bar Mitzvah, I read from the Torah, and then I make a speech and suddenly, I become a man!" Stan explained shortly, almost as if he didn't care about what he needed to do at all, and Emily flashed him a smirk that made his heart skip a beat slightly.

Richie chuckled a little. "I could think of funner ways to become a man," he said slyly, and Emily rolled her eyes in response. She was about to correct him, but Stan did the job for her.

"'More fun,'" you mean."

"Oh no," muttered Richie.

Emily gave him a look of confusion and then followed his gaze. Her muscles immediately tensed when she made eye contact with Henry Bowers, and her hands clenched into fists as she gave him a death glare. It seemed to not faze him whatsoever, as he kept his eyes locked onto hers; the girl was also able to see the threatening smile of Patrick Hockstetter, and she felt a mild chill travel though her. Belch Huggins and Victor Criss didn't bother her as much, since she was semi-neutral with them. She figured that Victor was nice enough, since he wasn't as harsh as the others, but she would never be friends with him.

As her hand reached towards her pocket, Stan put a hand on her arm, making her look at him. He shook his head as if to say, "That's not a good idea," and she nodded, dropping her hand back to where it swung by her side.

"Think they'll sign my yearbook?" Richie said to bring levity back into the group. "'Dear Richie, sorry for taking a hot steaming dump in your backpack last March. Have a good summer!'"

"Beep Beep, Richie," murmured Emily in response.

Just then, she felt Stan stumble into her and she gave him a look of concern. Her eyes darted behind him to see Greta Keene making a beeline for the girls' bathroom, and she confirmed that she had bumped Stan's shoulder, which made her grit her teeth a little. But she knew that whatever Greta was doing was none of her business, although she had been slightly curious. She turned back to Stan, ignoring this as she laid her left hand on his shoulder. "You okay?" she asked softly.

He nodded. "Yeah, she just caught me off guard," he replied.

"She's just a mean girl, anyway," said Emily. "Come on, the others will want to know where we are."

The two of them were quick to catch up with the other three, who hadn't even noticed that they were gone in the first place. They all went outside and saw many other teenagers piled up on the small hills, probably chatting about what they were going to do over the summer or just talking about everyday life. The five Losers paid them no attention as they went straight to the trash bin that sat about two dozen feet away from the school.

They all pulled their backpacks off and placed them on the rim of the trash can. Emily gave them all a smile and nodded once, which the others did as well; each one of them took the backpacks and held them over the hole, watching as all of their supplies spilled out and into it where they would never be seen again. The five of them snickered happily at the feeling of freedom from middle school.

Stan seemed to be the happiest of them all, since he was wearing the broadest grin. "Best. Feeling. Ever!" he celebrated, and although Emily was as giddy as he was, she couldn't help but send a warning glance in his direction. She did this because, seconds later…

"Yeah? Try tickling your pickle for the first time!" replied Richie, just as she suspected. She chose not to say anything, though, since she knew he wouldn't shut up no matter what she said.

Eddie slung his backpack over his back as he looked at all of them with a curious expression, a smile planted on his face. "Hey, what do you guys wanna do tomorrow?" he asked, his brown eyes brighter than Emily had ever seen them before, and it made her smile because of how happy he was, how happy they _all_ were, even Bill.

"I start my training," answered Richie, fixing his glasses that were slightly crooked on his nose. Emily whipped her head around to face him, her eyebrows scrunched together in puzzlement. "What?" she said.

"What training?" Eddie inquired, his eyebrows raised.

"_Street Fighter._"

Emily shook her head as she rolled her eyes. "Pfft," she scoffed. "Of course…"

Meanwhile, Eddie had a bemused look of disbelief etched into his features as he stared at Richie. "Is that how you wanna spend your summer?" he asked in a baffled voice. "Inside of an _arcade_?" Emily could tell that he was thinking about the boredom Richie would suffer through if he just played arcade games all summer long, and she couldn't help but agree with him as she also thought this.

"Beats spending it inside your mother," Richie replied in a snarky voice. He then did a thumbs-down. "Oh!"

Stan rolled his eyes and forcefully lowered Richie's arm, suppressing a groan of annoyance. "What if we go to the quarry?" he suggested as if the boy with the coke bottle glasses hadn't said anything at all. Emily tilted her head in thought, getting ready to support the idea with a bright smile, but a voice cut her off.

"Guys, we have the B-B-B-Barrens…"

The girl turned to Bill, who's smile had since faded away into a serious expression. His eyes told the rest that it was just another suggestion of where they could go, but Emily knew better; she knew that he was practically begging them to help him continue his search for Georgie. And although she didn't say anything, she just nodded, agreeing with him silently.

"Right," Stan said, also nodding, his own smile leaving. He, along with Emily, was respectful about whatever Bill wanted or needed to do and he was willing to help his best friend. The girl beside him gave him a look of thankfulness that he wasn't annoyed with Bill, because it was the truth; he really wasn't.

Emily turned her head to see Eddie looking in another direction. But before she could open her mouth to talk, he spoke.

"Betty Ripsom's mom," he whispered solemnly. This statement made Emily follow his gaze to see what he was talking about, her eyes wide in wonder. She easily spotted a woman standing in front of the school, a hopeful look on her face, and the girl noticed the dark circles under her eyes from obvious lack of sleep and her sympathy rose to an all-time high. She wanted to help her, but she knew that there was no point in doing so.

She didn't know how she could help Janice Ripsom, and that pained her greatly.

"Is she really expecting to see her come out of that school?" Stan spoke up, and Emily's heart sank at those words, which made her choose to not say anything.

"I don't know," replied Eddie. "As if Betty Ripsom's been hiding at Home Ec. for the last few weeks…"

Emily just looked at him with a somber expression, not opening her mouth to say a single word, even though she usually would have in a situation like this. She just stayed silent regardless.

"You think they'll actually find her?" Stan asked.

"Sure," began Richie, and Emily tried to stop him from saying something stupid.

Let's just say that she failed.

"In a ditch. All decomposed, covered in worms and maggots. Smelling like Eddie's mom's underwear," Richie finished, gesturing to said boy. Emily rolled her eyes, quietly scolding him as she saw Bill's expression turn into a defensive and irritated one, which made her wince.

"Shut up!" chided Eddie with a disgusted expression as he looked away. "That's freaking disgusting."

"Sh-She's not dead, she's m-muh-missing," remarked Bill, glaring at Richie. The boy, while straightening his glasses again, realized that he had crossed a line, so he nodded in response. "Sorry, Bill. She's missing," he corrected himself in a serious voice.

Emily sighed with relief, patting Richie on the back as she waited for Stan. She then started walking with the latter; all the while, her mood improved slightly, but not all that much. Despite this, she couldn't help but crack a smile when Richie spoke up again.

"You know, the Barrens aren't that bad," he said. "Who doesn't love splashing around in dirty water?"

But the girl's emotions were dragged back down to rock bottom at what happened next.

Richie was suddenly pulled forcefully by his backpack and he stumbled backwards and into Stan. The two toppled to the ground, grunting in pain as they did so, and Emily immediately rushed over to them as she once again made contact with Bowers. She suppressed a growl of anger when she saw him, and she pulled Richie to his feet; but before she could reach Stan, she saw Patrick Hockstetter kneel down and grab the poor boy's Kippah that had fallen from his head.

"Nice frisbee, flamer," Patrick taunted as he teased him with the Kippah.

"Give it back!" Stan begged, trying to snatch it out of the bully's hand, but Hockstetter laughed before chucking it away into a school bus that passed by them.

"Leave him alone!" screamed Emily furiously, her face contorted with rage. Stan gave her a terrified look, almost as if he didn't want her to make that move.

Hockstetter stood up and gave her a threatening look and stepped up to her. "And what are you gonna do if I don't, little princess?" he retorted, getting too close for comfort. Emily visibly cringed in disgust (she knew what he was doing), but she didn't back down from the taller boy, since she was now seeing red. Her hands clenched into fists, her fingernails digging into the skin as her right one reached for her pocket knife.

"Don't forget that I kicked you in between the legs a year ago, creep!" she snarled. "You don't want to mess with me." As she said the last sentence, she pulled out the blade, snapping it open and holding it out for him to see. He glanced down at it and held his hands up in surrender, but that wicked smile never left his face as he backed away.

"I wasn't expecting a murderer here today. You really _are_ a twat, aren't you?" taunted Patrick, and Emily's eyes flashed with indignation and anger, much like lightning on a pitch black night. If Hockstetter weren't as messed up of a person as he normally was, her fierce glare would have actually petrified him. But he wasn't. He instead gave her the same look, but she didn't back down again.

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not, but all you need to do is back away from my friends and nobody will get hurt," she quipped slyly, her pink lips forming into a one-sided smirk.

Hockstetter shook his head. "Whatever," he scoffed, turning to walk away. "You guys are freaking losers, anyway!"

Belch burped loudly right into Eddie's face, and Emily cringed once more, moving to stand by his side as the poor boy gagged. She put a hand on Eddie's back to keep him calm as Bowers purposely bumped Bill's shoulder, all the while quietly calling him a 'Loser.' The girl rolled her eyes into the back of her head in annoyance that these jerks just had to ruin one of the best days of the year.

And Bill only made the situation worse.

"You s-s-s-suck, Bowers!" he bravely insulted him.

Emily glared at him out of slight fear. "What the hell are you doing?!" she fiercely whispered, her voice full of venom as she was still staring at the Bowers Gang, who had halted their steps. It made her freeze in place, gripping the pocket knife tighter in her hand.

"Shut up, Bill!" hissed Eddie as Stan appeared by Emily's side. She saw Bowers slowly turn around, a maniacal but amused look on his face as he advanced towards Bill.

"You s-s-s-say something, Bi-Bi-Bi-Billy?" he asked in a mocking tone, and Emily's blood bubbled up inside of her due to the rage she was feeling. Henry seemed to not notice, since he approached the boy that stuttered with a threatening and provocative smile.

"You got a free ride this year 'cause of your little brother," he sneered. "Ride's over, Denbrough."

Emily finally stepped in, placing herself between Bill and Bowers. "Back off," she growled, glaring at him like a viper with its slit-like pupils. The bully opened his mouth to say something in response but he caught something out of the corner of his eye; this made the girl turn around and follow where he was looking at. She saw Oscar Bowers glaring at his son, almost as if he were telling him to leave her best friend alone.

Much to her relief, Bowers finally backed down, but he had one last thing to say. "This summer's gonna be a hurt train for you, your princess, and your fairy friends," he finished. He then ran his hand along his tongue and wiped it on Bill's cheek, making Emily grimace in disgust as the three walked off to Belch's car. She walked up to her best friend and put a comforting hand on his shoulder, not saying anything. She saw Victor waiting for the gang as they all got into the infamous blue car.

"I wish _he'd_ go missing," sighed Richie in annoyance.

"He's probably the one doing it," replied Eddie, looking at the others for confirmation, and Emily was the first one to nod.

As the five walked to the bike rack, Stan made Emily stay behind the others, and she gave him a grateful smile. He smiled back as they got their bikes unlocked from the rightful places. While the other three rode their bikes down the street, he kept his pace with her, all the while shooting her glances of worry. And every time Emily looked at him, her heart would flutter ever so slightly in her chest as she beamed at him.

Stan's deep sienna eyes showed the kind of gentle concern her mother had. She herself would normally shy away from it, claiming she didn't need comfort, but she was soothed by it this time; maybe she did need it every once in a while. It felt as if she were wrapped in a blanket of his caring, and she appreciated it.

She was also focused on the color of his soft eyes. As he himself was fighting back a smile, she could see that his eyes were every shade of brown you could imagine, a raw umber and caramel mix, dotted with bits of dark chocolate. They were beautiful and she saw them as her own galaxy in her own world and universe, and they complimented his kind face perfectly.

Emily found herself staring and shook her head, turning away before Stan could notice her dazed look. But, unbeknownst to her, Stan had known what she was doing the entire time.

The five of them each went to their respective houses, Emily and Bill walking together until they reached theirs. And when the girl walked away, she could faintly hear Bill practicing his speech therapy.

* * *

After she finished her laundry and hung up her clothes in the closet, Emily walked over to her vanity and did nothing but look at her reflection; she was very unnerved at the exact form of herself staring back, diving into her soul. At the moment, Charlotte was still at work, as she was to work the afternoon and night shifts for that day; Emily didn't really mind, although she did miss her mother's presence in the house every now and then. But she seemed to be okay alone in the house.

Or so she thought.

Emily examined herself in the mirror, focusing on every line and curve of her face and body. She noticed that she had the exact same features of her mother, but her eyes were slightly different, and her hair was almost the exact opposite of Charlotte's. While her mother's brown eyes had flecks of gold that danced within the deep swirls of cocoa that made them appear to have a hidden mystery, Emily had chocolate brown eyes speckled with slight hints of hazel. And while Charlotte's hair was very short and was the brown of aged mahogany, Emily's hair was a soft and dark brown, like the bark of an oak tree, simply gentle in any light.

But despite that, you could say that Emily and her mother looked exactly alike. And she secretly appreciated it every time somebody said that.

She then looked down and saw a small box lying on the wood that her hands rested on. It was a cream square box with a red lid sealing whatever it held inside. But she was about to unveil that for the first time in a while, even if it made her a little nervous to take a glance into her past again. She took a deep breath, bracing herself. She was Emily Katherine Boleyn; she could do _anything_ she set her mind on.

So, with that in mind, she moved her hands to the lid of the box and gently pried it off with her tentative fingers. It broke away from the prison-like confinement quite easily as she put it down next to her, and she turned back to stare at the contents that were not invisible to her anymore. And, almost immediately, a dumb grin grew across her face at what she saw.

Inside the box sat a bunch of pictures, cards, souvenirs, and personal belongings that Emily owned but didn't look at for quite some time. She took out some of them, which were photos of Indiana landmarks, ones that she took in her room, a few of her and her mom, a few of herself, and a few of just random things. She took them and placed them on her mirror, filling herself with gratitude in the process. She did this until they covered nearly every inch of the glass, leaving a small space where another could take its place in due time. It was okay for her, since she had a full-body mirror as well.

She pulled out some of the cards she had received for her previous birthdays and she placed them in the drawer of the nightstand beside her bed. She then went back to the box and chuckled at some of the souvenirs she found, treasuring the memories in her hands. There were a few magnets and toys she had gotten at Disney World when she was five; that was before her life had gone to waste, when everything was right with the world and she was the innocent Emily her mother knew and loved.

And she then reached the last photo in the box and she felt a negative pang in her chest when she saw it. She froze for just a second as she stared at it with a fierce glare, but she eventually took it into her surprisingly gentle hands, lifting it up to see it better. And when she did, her eyes began watering with unshed tears.

It was a picture of her, Charlotte, and her father, Tom, standing in front of their new house when Emily herself was around six or seven. All of their faces held bright and genuine smiles as Tom held his only child in his arms while she laughed, one of the last times he was really happy before the alcohol and drugs took over his system. Deep inside of her, she still loved her father, but a part of her hated him for how he turned out.

But the love overshadowed the hatred, and that was all that mattered to her in her heart.

Because of this, she took the picture and stuck it on the remaining gap in the mirror, feeling that it was the right place to put it so she could focus on the good memories she had. Emily briefly tugged at a strand of her hair after she did this, her heart sinking slightly at the fact that her father turned out to be the way he was, but that was how life went. It just wasn't fair sometimes.

Emily then turned around to face her room, briefly acknowledging her empty backpack thrown onto the bed. She glanced at her surroundings, smiling a little at how it had come together. She had posters for _Halloween, Halloween ll, Friday the 13th, _and _A Nightmare on Elm Street_ hanging on the walls in a neat fashion, as well as a horror tapestry that she found to be beautiful. A bookshelf lined the only blank wall and there were dozens of books that filled the little cubbies. On her nightstand, which was a few feet from the window, rested a telephone that she often used to call her friends.

Her window, which was open, looked down and across the way to Bill's house next door. On sunny days, she, Bill, and Georgie would often have played in that area, but that wasn't the case anymore.

The open window was causing the wind from outside to blow her white curtains into the room, so Emily made her way across to shut it to prevent anything else from falling over. But, as she was rearranging the curtains, she looked idly out the window for a moment. Then her eyes squinted in confusion as she pulled the curtains further open so she could see better.

Somebody was there.

Partially hidden by the side of Bill's house, a strange figure stood there, looking up at her window with a smile on its face. Its face was painted white (flour white), its lips rogue-red and ruby, and its eyes… Well, Emily was looking at the figure from a bit of a distance away, so she wasn't able to determine the color of its eyes. And the creepiest smile was on the clown's face, and it weirded the girl out a little.

Yes, this was a clown, all right. Dressed in a very good - albeit very baggy and loose - costume, the makeup, and everything. This guy definitely went all out, didn't he?

Or was it a he?

Although Emily had a sneaking suspicion it was someone pranking her at first, she soon realized that the suggestion wasn't true at all. This person

_(demon)_

was different. The look on his

_(Its)_

face proved to be far more unsettling than any other expression the girl had ever seen in her life. It was so elusive that it was scary. You looked at it and it was there, but if you blinked it was gone.

Emily moved her eyes ever so slightly to the right, not even turning her head in the slightest. She was glancing to see if anybody else was outside, but nobody was. She dropped her gaze and looked back at where she had stared earlier. This time, she visibly jerked back.

Now…

Now it was gone.

Her eyebrows scrunched together in worry and slight uneasiness, she slammed down the window hard, rattling the glass, and locked it.

Putting her hands on her face for a moment, Emily paced around her room, processing what she had just seen. She twisted her head suddenly toward the window to catch it unawares, but it was gone. She began to doubt her senses.

Her telephone suddenly rang, and she shrieked a little as she jumped; it was almost like a shotgun had gone off at her feet. She then reached out and picked up the phone.

"Hello?" she said softly, her voice quivering just a tiny bit.

"_Hey, Em!"_

The girl's heart skipped a beat at the sound of the voice on the other end and she smiled, sitting down on the bed. This boy always gave her this feeling of happiness whenever she just heard his voice, and she temporarily forgot about what had just happened moments earlier.

"Hey, Stan," she replied cheerfully. "What's up?"

"_Nothing much. Listen, Em, I can't talk for very long. I'm about to leave for the synagogue with my dad. I was just calling to tell you that Bill changed our plans for tomorrow. We're not going to the Barrens."_

Emily's smile faltered a little in confusion. "Well… where are we going then?" she pressed onward.

"_I don't know,"_ Stan responded. "_Maybe an area around the Barrens, I'm not so sure."_

The girl nodded, the uneasiness beginning to seep back into her mind. "Okay," she said a little quieter than intended. "Are you sure that's it?"

A small moment of silence before Stan spoke up again. "_Yeah, that's it. I'll see you and the others tomorrow?"_

"Yeah. I'll meet you guys at the square. I'm gonna go."

What she didn't know was that Stan could hear the nervousness in her voice, and he couldn't help but feel a little concerned for his best friend. "_Emily, are you okay?"_ he asked tentatively.

"Bye!" she said quickly, hanging up the phone and sighing in relief.

She then began pacing around the room again, a few fingers pressed up to her lips in thought and concentration. After a while, she had enough, face palming in exasperation. "Calm down, Emily, this is stupid," she told herself aloud.

This was just her nerves acting up due to the missing kids. It was very reasonable to be a little anxious when she was all alone, but also absolutely ridiculous at the same time.

And it was all okay. But she kept glancing out the window anyway.

* * *

**A/N: Well... THAT was creepy! If you are a big horror fan like myself, than the last scene was obviously inspired by the scene in the original _Halloween_ when Laurie looks out her window and sees Michael Myers. The idea came to me out of nowhere, and I thought it would be perfect!**

**What did you guys think of this chapter? Was it great and accurate to the 2017 film? Let me know!**

**Was Emily awesome once again? I think she was! :) Did you guys like the small and cute moments between her and Stan? The ship is beginning to sail and I'm LIVING FOR IT! AHHHHHHH!**

**What were your thoughts on the ending scene? What were you thinking? I would like to know! :D**

**Anyways, that wraps up the sixth chapter! Now, I'm gonna go watch some _Friday the 13th_ movies tonight and have fun! You guys have fun tonight as well, and try not to get too scared! ;)**

**I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Be looking forward to the next one! Have a great day, and until next time!**

**\- Hermione Romanoff**


	7. A Trip to the Sewers

**DISCLAIMER: IT IS OWNED BY NEW LINE CINEMA AND WARNER BROS. STUDIOS! I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING EXCEPT FOR MY OC'S!**

**A/N: Only two days have passed and we're already at the seventh chapter?! What the _HECK_ is going on, am I right?! Anyways, I spen nearly the entire day writing most of this chapter and proofreading it. I hope you guys are proud. And you guys will be getting much more updates over the next few weeks, because I'm out of school for two weeks. Freaking corona virus! But, still, YAY! More updates! I bet y'all are happy!**

_** .2020: Thank you!**_

_**Angryfanfic: I love the movies as well.**_

_**MusicLover14: HAHAHAHA! They're TOTALLY lunch buddies! That would be hilarious to see! And yes, Emily is the QUEEN OF ALL QUEENS! ALL HAIL QUEEN EMILY! And I'm not making Pennywise appear out of nowhere just yet, I'm building up to that! ;) Also, Pennywise doesn't scare me at all lmfao**_

_**robinmuffins: I'm glad you enjoyed this chapter! My school was called off as well, so I can relate. I really enjoyed your sixth chapter of "Kid Fears." It was well worth the wait! And I'm glad you dug that little easter egg. ;) Read my author's note when you're done, because I will reveal interesting info about both the last chapter and this chapter! :D**_

_**Special thanks to HarmonyGirl567, .2019, Angryfanfic, MusicLover14, and robinmuffins for either leaving a review or favoriting/following the last chapter!**_

**Now, without further ado, here is the seventh chapter! Lucky seven!**

* * *

_Silent darkness creeps into your soul_

_And removes the light of self control_

_The cave that holds you captive has no doors_

_Burnin' with determination_

_To even up the score_

* * *

**_Chapter Seven: A Trip to the Sewers_**

_June 14th, 1989_

_11:36 A.M._

The next morning, Emily woke up rather late, which was something that she almost never did; but hey, it was summer vacation, so she deserved a few extra hours of sleep. But when she opened her eyes at _11:12_, she immediately got out of bed and started to get ready. She got a blood red t-shirt and black shorts, changing out of her night clothes and into that pair, checking herself in the mirror to make sure that nothing was out of place.

And nothing had been.

Bill had called her the night before just as she was going to bed and informed her that all five of them would be meeting at the square around _12:00_ to go to an area around the Barrens. She had voiced her approval, although she was a little more interested and concerned than she normally would be. But, nevertheless, she shook those feelings away, although a tiny bit of curiosity still remained in her brain. She wondered what the real purpose of the boy changing plans really were, but nothing came to mind.

All she did know was that she had a bad feeling about today… and it would remain that way for the weeks that followed.

While Emily was on her bike and making her way to the square, the events from yesterday repeated themselves in her head for the millionth time. She couldn't get the image of that creepy-looking clown out of her head and she also couldn't process about how he

_(It)_

was there one second but gone the next. He couldn't have teleported away (that reminded her too much of Jason Voorhees) because that wasn't integrated in reality. It could have been possible that he had quickly walked or run away when she had taken her eyes off of him for a split second.

But, for some reason, the former suggestion stood out like a sore thumb. It was almost as if that were the safest option, that this

_(entity)_

man had somehow teleported away like it was the most normal thing in the world.

And Emily's mind was still a surging perplexity in the twenty hours that had passed since the small incident of confusion. She glanced upward at the sky after she had stopped by a bench at the square, her mouth pursed but slightly open and loose. Her eyes were fixed as if she had seen something very intriguing, but she was still seeing that clown in her head. It was all she could think about and it was freaking annoying. It always irritated her whenever she couldn't find out the answer to something she desperately needed to know, and this time was no different in any way.

She was also wondering why she had been feeling so paranoid and cautious lately when she went anywhere. She always had a panging sensation in the pit of her stomach that someone was following her or staring at her from behind a hedge. Every now and then, she would be afraid that some evil killer

_(clown)_

would come out of nowhere and snatch her up just like those poor children over the past eight months. She could name off several more children that had vanished within that time span: Annie Snell, Wendy Thompson, Emma Gardner, and the list went on for ages.

It was highly upsetting and terrifying.

"Emily? _Emily!_"

Emily jumped a mile into the air, blinking herself back into reality. She turned around to see Stan, Eddie, Bill, and Richie giving her baffled looks and she shook her head slightly. "When did you guys get here?" she asked nonchalantly, giving them a casual smile.

"We've been trying to get your attention for a full minute," replied Eddie, his voice slightly shocked as he said it. Emily's eyes widened a little; she had been that zoned out and she felt very guilty for not snapping out of her trance sooner. She then lowered her gaze for a second before looking at the others again, giving them an apologetic expression.

"Sorry," she uttered a little quieter than intended. "Guess I was just in my own little world for a second."

This caused Richie to form that infamous smirk on his face as he elbowed Stan. "I think she was thinking about you, Stan the Man," he teased, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

His statement made Emily's cheeks turn a major shade of pink as she quickly turned away. "Was not!" she defended herself but, although she was actually telling the truth, she couldn't help but feel very embarrassed at what Richie had said. But she also didn't know that Stan was equally as flustered as she was, since he pushed the trashmouth's arm away as fast as he could.

"Beep Beep, Richie!" he warned, giving him a glare, although his face was also red. Emily didn't notice this.

After getting over her stupid moment, Emily turned back to the others when the pink hue died from her cheeks. "Anyways," she spoke up confidently, "you guys ready to go?"

The four boys nodded with smiles, although Bill's was a little more hesitant than the others. They then jumped onto their bikes and sped off, blissful looks planted on all of their faces as the wind blew through their hair. The beautiful blessing of summer filled Emily's soul and it made her grin happily as they went down each street and road, eventually passing the public library, where Ben Hanscom was currently reading a book about Derry.

"HI-YO, SILVER! AWAYY!" shouted Bill at the top of his lungs, making Emily laugh out loud.

Richie made some snarky comment on how their bikes were much slower than Bill's, which only made the girl laugh a lot more.

And she then caught Stan's eyes again, making her quickly glance away, another blush creeping upon her cheeks. She didn't see the boy next to her smiling at her for a small moment, although he wondered why she looked away from him very suddenly. Even though it would slowly sink into the back of his mind as the day passed by, he was very curious and he pondered why Emily's reaction was this way.

After a while, the five of them finally arrived at the area Bill was leading them to. It was definitely an area around the Barrens, with its messy, untamed tract of land. It was big and green and wild and beautiful to Emily as her eyes followed a trickle of water to its source:

A large sewer drainpipe.

She immediately squinted her eyes in confusion as to what they were doing there, but she knew there could only be one answer to that. She chose not to speak about it, though, since she knew the topic would be very upsetting.

"Do you want me to check for poison ivy, Eds?" spoke up Stan, looking at the smaller boy with a reassuring look. Eddie turned his head towards him, the emotion of cautiousness filling the droplets of his honey brown eyes. He was worried that he was in a place with tons of germs and bacteria, so he almost instantly nodded his head a little.

"I don't know, I guess," he replied in a worried tone, dropping his bike as opposed to putting the kickstand down. The large clump of metal thudded against the ground with a sharp _clang_ that drew Emily's attention faster than anything else normally would.

Stan then started looking around, his eyes narrowed as he examined each and every plant that surrounded them. He then pointed to those that he thought answered his question. "That's poison ivy," he called out. "And _that's_ poison ivy. Annnnnd _that's_ poison ivy." Emily knew that he was actually lying and she tried to hide a smile, but she instantly felt bad for Eddie when she heard how he was reacting.

"Where?" the smaller boy questioned, panicked out of his mind. "Where's the poison ivy?!"

Richie then turned towards the two, an exasperated and slightly annoyed look on his face. "Nowhere," he stated simply. "Not _every plant_ is poison ivy, Stanley." There was a smile on his face despite this.

While all of this was going on, Emily pushed a thin vine that stood in her path away. Stepping in a few feet behind Richie and Bill, she parted her way into the dark space, but she turned around to look at Eddie and Stan, pointing beside her. "Those leaves over there," she stated, mentioning the ones that Stan had pointed out earlier, "aren't poison ivy. They mostly grow on trees, not the ground."

"So… nothing here is poison ivy?" Eddie inquired slowly, emerging into the tunnel, his face scrunched up as he settled into a rather cleaner spot. Emily gave him a shake of her head with a reassuring smile, turning to face the other two boys as she went deeper into the tunnel herself.

Even though the only light source she had was the two flashlights held by Bill and Richie, the young girl was still able to find her footing. But she abruptly stepped into water that was littered with trash and other things she wasn't able to point out. She could feel the dirty water filling her shoes and seeping into her freshly picked white socks.

_Thank God I wore old shoes and socks today,_ she thought to herself and she sighed with relief.

"Okay, well…" Eddie began. "I'm starting to get itchy now and I'm pretty sure this is not good for my -"

"Do you use the same bathroom as your mother?" asked Richie jokingly, that crooked smile never leaving his face. Emily didn't see what was going on behind her, so she wasn't able to acknowledge Eddie rolling his eyes out of irritation.

"Sometimes, yeah," responded Eddie.

"Then you probably have crabs."

"That's _so_ not funny."

Emily stifled a laugh, although she rolled her eyes at their bickering. She then circled her head around to see what was now going on; afterwards, she raised her eyebrows when she noticed that neither Stan or Eddie were making any move to follow her and the other boys inside the tunnel. She locked eyes with the former and he shrugged his shoulders, not saying anything. It made her shake her head, and Richie took the words she meant to speak right out of her mouth.

"Aren't you guys coming in?" he said, giving them a weird look, beyond confusion at this point. Eddie shook his head, jutting his finger towards something Emily herself could not see.

"Uh-uh," he muttered. "It's greywater…"

"What the heck's greywater?" Richie replied, now very annoyed. And this made Eddie roll his eyes into the back of his head, even more irritated than the boy with the coke bottle glasses.

"Tell 'em, Bill," was all he spoke, "what your dad said."

Emily turned back to the boy in question, who was deeper in the long, cavernous sewer pipe, which extended into pitch darkness. And, since Bill didn't move in response, still focused on his surroundings, the girl had a sense of something lurking… something

_(the clown)_

waiting... It sent a small chill down the length of her spine as the boy opened his mouth to explain what he needed to.

"It's where all the ruh-ruh-rain water and storm drain runoff goes," he stated simply. Emily nodded to herself, knowing that Bill was right about this, but she knew that it wouldn't shut up Eddie's rambling, which annoyed her a little.

And, sure enough, Eddie didn't stop there.

"It's sewer water," he said, making Bill's explanation more clear. "It's basically pee and garbage. So, I'm just telling you… you guys are splashing around in _millions_ of gallons of Derry pee. So…" The boy's long pause concerned Emily, making her turn around as he spoke up again. "Are you - Are you serious? What are you…?"

Richie, who had picked up a stick from the water and sniffed it, shrugged his shoulders. "Smells fine to me," he replied calmly. The dumbest grin then spread across his face as he turned to Eddie. "Doesn't smell like caca to _me_, señor!" The atrocious Spanish accent made Emily groan internally as she gave the boy a glare; even she could do a better one than him, but she wasn't about to test that out.

"Okay, I can smell that from here!" Eddie exclaimed, his eyebrows raised in shock that his best friend would do this to torture him. But this reply made Richie snicker.

"It's probably just your breath wafting back into your face," he said smoothly and casually, not having a care in the world as he did so. Emily leaned her head back, pinching the bridge of her nose in exasperation as she sighed.

"Leave him alone, Rich," she said quietly, but that silenced neither the boy in question or Eddie, since the latter pressed his lips together in indignation, raising his hand into the air as he scoffed.

"Have you ever heard of a staph infection?!" he shouted, now fully angry with Richie. But this, in no way, fazed the infamous trashmouth of the club, since he was laughing hysterically now.

"Oh, I'll show you a staph infection!" rebuked Richie though his chuckles.

"This is so unsanitary!" continued Eddie, shaking his head rapidly. "You're literally… This is literally like swimming inside of a toilet bowl right now! Have you ever heard of Listeria?!" As he said this, Richie used the stick he was still holding to pick up a grimy trash bag. Both Eddie's and Emily's eyes widened at what he was doing, their mouths now agape in shock. Before the girl could warn the smaller boy, Richie grinned deviously and threw the trash bag in Eddie's direction.

Eddie screamed in terror as the bag landed at his feet. "What the -?! Are you - Are you _retarded_?! You're the reason we're in this position right now!"

Richie pretended to be hurt, placing a hand on his chest. "Oh, _I'm_ the reason?" he retorted in a mock sad voice. "Poor little Eddie Spaghetti…"

"_Stop_ calling me that!" yelled Eddie in response.

"Guys!"

Emily snapped her head to Bill as well as the others, eyeing him with curiosity. She saw that his face was one of surprise as he shined his flashlight over something; her gaze drifted down to a sneaker he held in his left hand, and her heart began to slowly sink. And it seemed as if the others were grasping onto what she was thinking as well.

"Wait," Stan began as his voice cracked, "don't tell me that's…"

"No," replied Bill almost immediately. "Juh-Juh-Georgie wore galoshes." After he said this, he shined his flashlight more into the shoe as Richie walked up to him with his own torch. Emily, meanwhile, walked back to where Stan and Eddie were standing, and it seemed as if the former was relieved that she was by his side again. He didn't tell her this, however.

"Whose sneaker is it?" asked Eddie as he was starting to feel tense. An agonizing stillness followed this question as Emily watched Richie and Bill examine the shoe further, during which she moved a tiny bit closer to Stan, and he thankfully didn't notice this.

"It's Betty Ripsom's," answered Richie after he looked at them.

"Oh no," whispered Eddie, beginning to panic majorly now. "Oh, God! I don't like this…" His mind was churning as he shook his head again.

"How do you think _Betty_ feels?" inquired Richie jokingly, and Emily gave him a warning glare, but he ignored it. "Running around these tunnels with only one frickin' shoe?!" He then started to bounce on one foot, imitating what he thought was funny at the time. Emily and the others gave him looks of anger and he realized that this was nothing to joke about.

_Did he really just freaking say that?_ Emily thought to herself as she sighed audibly.

"What if she's still here?"

Emily turned to Stan, shocked that he would say such a thing. He sounded a little distressed, and it made her heart fully sink as she put a hand on his shoulder, not blushing as she did so. He was grateful for being in her presence, since he returned the gesture by putting a hand on hers. Because Emily's gaze was lowered, she couldn't see Richie scoff as he and Bill ventured further into the tunnel, but she most definitely heard it.

"Eddie, come on," he told the smaller boy, feeling as if there were no point in turning back.

Eddie wasn't having it, however, since he was fidgeting with his hands as he gave Richie a look of disbelief. "My mom will have an aneurysm, okay?!" he shouted again. "If she finds out we're playing down here… I'm serious! Bill?"

Bill, who had been uncommonly quiet, turned his head to face the other four again, the look in his eyes breaking Emily's heart. If… If _I_ were Betty Ruh-Ripsom… I would want us to find me. J-Juh-Juh-Georgie too…"

"What if I don't want to find them?" Eddie questioned a little too harshly. "I mean, no offense, Bill, but I don't want to end up like -" And, just as Emily whispered his name in a very stern manner, he stopped himself suddenly, seeing the boy's eyes filling with tears at this and Emily's furious gaze stabbing at his soul. Realizing what he had done, he immediately regretted what he had nearly said. "I don't want to go missing either…" he covered it up.

Too late. He had already crossed the line.

_Why would Eddie even begin to say something like that? _Emily's voice echoed in her mind as she took her hand off of Stan's shoulder, missing the warm feeling of his fingers on her skin. _We all know that Georgie is a sensitive subject. I mean… heck, why wouldn't it be? Bill lost his own freaking brother not even a year ago, and he's trying to come to terms in his own way. None of us know what that's like!_

"He has a point," Stan mumbled, finally speaking up again.

"Y-Y-You too?" Bill asked, his voice breaking a little. He had obviously assumed that his good friend would have sided with him on the matter.

"It's summer!" replied Stan. "We're supposed to be having _fun_! This isn't fun… This is _scary_ and _disgusting_!" This made Emily turn towards the boy she liked again, opening her mouth to speak.

But she wasn't able to, since a large splash was suddenly heard not too far away from the five teenagers. Emily, Eddie, and Stan snapped their heads around and the girl saw a slightly overweight boy on his hands and knees in the river. He seemed to be just out of breath at first, and she thought that he was okay otherwise. And she then looked closer and she saw a completely different story.

His bloodied nose.

The scratches and bruises on his face.

And the blood that was so obviously coming from his stomach.

This kid had just gotten beaten up, and that did not sit right with Emily, who immediately rushed over to Ben Hanscom.

"Holy cow! What happened to you?!" Richie yelled out, sounding alarmed as Emily reached the boy, holding out a hand to him and he took it instantly. She pulled him up with surprising ease and looked him over, trying not to gag at the sight of the blood.

"Guys, we need to get him into town. He looks awful," she murmured in a scared voice she never used anymore. Even Stan noticed that it was a tone of voice that he hadn't heard from her in the year and a half he had known her. But he ignored it as he was the first one to rush over to her, helping her to Bill's bike. The boy with the stutter had offered to have the boy sit on the back of his bicycle as they all began their journey back into town.

They pedaled down the streets when they got back into town, not really paying much attention to the things going on around them. Their one and only objective: get Ben to the pharmacy and fix him up. But, as they were reaching their destination, Eddie began to ramble on… and on… and on…

"I think it's great that we're helping out the new kid," he began, "but we also need to think of our own safety. I mean, he's bleeding all over and you guys do know there's an AIDS epidemic happening right now as we speak. My mom's friend in New York City got it by touching a dirty pole on the subway. And a drop of AIDS blood got into her system through her hangnail… her _hangnail_!"

Finally, the whining became too much for Emily to handle.

"Please be quiet, Eds!" she shouted, fed up with his constant paranoia.

"God, you're such a spaz!" Richie called out immediately after.

But Eddie, once again, wasn't listening because he continued seconds later as they biked into an alleyway. "And you can amputate arms and legs. But how do you amputate a wa - How do you amputate a _waist_?!" As he kept speaking faster than Emily ever heard him speak before, Bill helped Ben sit down on a wooden box while Richie put his own bicycle down.

"You guys do know that alleys are known for dirty needles that have AIDS, right?" Eddie went on. "You guys do know that? Hey…"

"Ah, we're screwed," replied Bill, who was surprisingly calm about the situation at hand. R-Richie, Em-Em-Emily, wait here. Come on." He, Eddie, and Stan then went off to get what the girl assumed to be medical supplies, leaving her and Richie to keep the injured boy company.

"Glad I got to meet you before you died," said Richie in a nonchalant way, and the boy gave him a blank glare. Emily rolled her eyes as she shoved her best friend.

"Beep Beep, Richie!" she warned him, giving him a piercing glare. He actually shut up this time, allowing Emily to kneel down in front of the boy, her furious look dissolving into a much more kind one. "Hi," she greeted.

The boy gave her a polite smile. "Hi," he replied shyly, still a little shaken up from what he had just went through. This made a look of sympathy flash through the young girl's eyes for a moment, since she reached forward and patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry, we don't bite," she assured him with a grin. He nodded. "What's your name?" she added kindly.

"Ben Hanscom," he said in response. Emily's eyes widened slightly in wonder, and that worried him for a second.

"So _you're_ the new kid everyone was talking about!" she exclaimed happily. At his hesitant nod, she shook her head. "Hey, it's nothing to worry about, Ben. I only moved here a year and a half ago, so don't sweat about it, okay?"

Ben's eyes also widened, but this was in surprise. "You're new here, too?" he exclaimed, and her head bobbed up and down as she smiled even more at his reaction. "Moved here from Indiana," she replied, sticking out her hand for him to shake. "I'm Emily Boleyn."

He shook her hand with an appreciative smile.

The boy with the large glasses then walked up to Ben, sticking out his own hand. "Richie Tozier's my name," he introduced himself with a smile. Ben hesitantly shook his hand, while Richie did so very confidently, letting his arms swing by his sides afterwards. "And doing voices is my game!"

Just then, Stan, Bill, and Eddie came back around the corner, much to Emily's relief. Eddie was panting while holding a bunch of medical stuff that the girl for sure knew couldn't have been paid for with the money they had. It made her stifle yet another laugh as the smaller boy sat in front of Ben, getting ready to fix his stomach wound. And Emily was now focused on helping her best friend fix up the boy she had just met, kneeling down next to him.

"Hey, you'll be okay," she told Ben. "Just remember that, okay? I'll make sure he does nothing stupid."

"Em, I know what I'm doing!" snapped Eddie. "Give me my fanny pack, please!"

Emily snickered as she got it for him, handing it to him and he took it, taking another medical supply he owned and beginning to work on Ben. The boy winced when he felt the stitches going through his skin and Emily put a hand on his shoulder.

"It'll be okay," she said again, and he nodded, still grimacing a little.

Stan, meanwhile, found himself staring at Emily, admiring how focused she was; his stomach did a slight somersault when he saw the way her chocolate brown eyes held so much concern over the new kid and the way her long, slightly wavy, and beautiful brown hair cascaded over her left shoulder, exposing the true gorgeousness of her face. It made his heart twirl multiple times.

Emily's eyes lingered over to Stan, her not knowing that he had been staring at her for several seconds, and his gaze was still set on her. As if he were caught, he darted his attention back to Ben. She herself could feel the slight jump in the pit of her stomach as she also paid attention to the new kid again.

_Was he really staring at _me_? _she thought to herself frantically.

Ben's stomach was now in full view for Emily to see and she most definitely couldn't deny the gash that marked a capitalized '_H.'_ She nearly rolled her eyes when she found out her answer to who had done this to him. _It was Bowers. Should've known._

"Just suck the wound," demanded Richie after a while. This caused Eddie to roll his eyes into the back of his head, glaring at his best friend. "I need to focus right now," he replied.

"You need to focus?!" Richie exclaimed with a guffaw of laughter as Eddie put a bandage on Ben's wound.

"Yeah," responded Eddie. He then turned to Stan as Emily finally stood up. "Can you go get me something?"

Stan sighed. "Jesus! What do you need?" he said exasperatedly, his eyebrows raised in bemusement. This made Emily elbow the boy and she shot him a playful glare that said, "Don't be rude."

"Go get my bifocals," said Eddie. "I hid 'em in my second fanny pack." Emily's eyebrows were now raised in amusement as Stan went to get what Eddie needed.

"Wait," she chuckled. "Why do you have _two_ fanny packs?!" Eddie couldn't help but smile a little as he shook his head.

"I need to focus right now and it's a long story. I don't want to get into it."

Stan then got the bifocals and handed them to Eddie, who took them and began examining the wound further. Emily watched with genuine interest as she once more rested a friendly hand on Ben's shoulder to provide comfort, which he greatly appreciated. But, a few seconds later, she saw a little more blood leave his wound and she grimaced in disgust, turning away a little.

"Oh, God, he's bleeding!" screamed Stan as he covered his mouth. "Oh, my God!" Emily placed her other hand on his arm to calm him down, telling him it was okay, and he visibly relaxed seconds later, much to her delight.

"You have to suck the wound before you apply the band-aids," Richie informed Eddie in an amused voice. "This is 101!"

Eddie shook his head, not turning to the boy this time. "You don't know what you're talking about," he said, groaning internally.

"Are you okay? That looks like it hurts…"

Emily jumped a little at the new voice and turned around, her eyes widened slightly in shock. Standing beside Bill was a girl around her age with a concerned look planted on her face as she looked at Ben. The brown-haired girl was able to recognize her within half a second, pointing out the eyes that were the hue of the new summer growth, bright and soft all at once; they were flecks of strength, the kind of blue-green that comes only as the warm weather advances.

But the standout feature of this newcomer was the scorching and fiery red hair that looked burning to the touch; the orange sunset locks, capturing the sunlight in vibrant ruby hues, flowed in gentle, warm curls of lava down to her mid-back. And the second Emily saw this, a friendly smile grew on her face as she nodded to Beverly Marsh.

"Oh," murmured Ben, looking down a little in a shy manner. "No, I'm good. I just… fell…"

_More like "fell in love,"_ Emily thought slyly as she smirked at Ben.

"Yeah. Right into Henry Bowers," added Richie, completely serious now. Emily audibly groaned as she smacked the back of his head.

"Sh-Shut it, Richie," said Bill.

"Why? It's the truth," was all Richie responded with, and Ben just shrugged.

Beverly then took a step forward, shooting Ben a smile this time. "You sure they got the… right stuff… to fix you up?" she asked, winking at the boy, who blushed. This made Emily smirk even more as she and Stan locked eyes. They both tried to hide their chuckles behind their hands.

Y-You know… wuh-we'll take care of him," Bill spoke up, giving Beverly a shy smile. "Uh, th-thanks again, Beverly…" And, once more, Emily struggled to hold back laughter, wanting to tease the boy so badly.

"Sure," replied Beverly casually. "Maybe I'll see you around."

Emily nodded, humor replaced by genuine friendliness with the snap of fingers. "Feel free to," she told her. "It would do good to have another girl in the group for once." This made Beverly giggle a little.

"Yeah," Bill added, coming up with an idea right there, "we were thinking about g-going to the quarry tomorrow, if-if you wanna come." Emily was one of the only ones who nodded in agreement, since Richie and Ben both seemed surprised about Bill inviting a girl to join them. She gave them a look as if to say, "I'm standing right here, too."

"Good to know. Thanks," said Beverly. Emily gave her a grateful smile.

"Don't worry, Bev," she said. "I'll protect you from the mean boys." Both girls shared a laugh at her little joke.

"Thanks, Emily," Beverly replied, waving at all of them before walking away. Emily noticed Bill staring at the redhead until she rounded the corner and disappeared, so she chose to break him out of his trance by messing up his hair. "Come back to Earth, lover boy," she whispered to him teasingly. "Don't stay in your version of space… you'll see the little beauty tomorrow."

Bill chuckled a little, fixing his hair to how it was moments earlier before turning back to the others. And that was when Stan glared at Richie.

"Nice going bringing up Bowers in front of her!" he hissed at him. Eddie stood up as he said this.

"Yeah, dude, you heard what she did," he added.

Ben looked up at them, confused and concerned. "What'd she do?" he asked tentatively.

"More like, '_Who'd_ she do?'" quipped Richie, a smirk etched into his lips. "From what I hear, the list is longer than my wang." As he said this, he ran a hand along his groin, making Emily cringe in repulsion.

"That's not saying much," replied Stan, and Emily finally broke, bursting out laughing. His heart skipped a beat at her musical laugh.

"Th-They're just rumors," said Bill, the only serious one out of them, and Emily nodded in agreement after calming down. Richie shrugged, turning back to Ben.

"Anyway, Bill had her back in third grade," he said.

Ben turned to look at Bill, disappointment filling his eyes, and it broke Emily's heart. She didn't show it.

"They kissed in the school play," continued Richie. Both Stan and Emily gave Bill sly smirks and the former winked at him, causing him to roll his eyes and look away. It made Emily laugh. "The reviews said you can't fake that sort of passion!" finished Richie.

After a long moment of silence, he carried on again, clapping his hands together. "Now, pip-pip and tally-ho, my good fellows!" he shouted in the worst British accent Emily had ever heard in her life. "I do believe this chap requires our utmost attention!" He then pushed Eddie forward, seriousness in his face now. "Get in there, Dr. K! Come on, fix him up!"

Eddie glared at him again. "Why don't you shut the heck up, Einstein, because I know what I'm doing, and I _don't_ want you doing the British guy with me right now!"

Richie, who wasn't listening, gestured to Ben's wound once more. "Suck the wound! _Get in there!_"

Emily chuckled again, looking around and eventually taking a look at her watch. "Well," she spoke up, "I really hate to be leaving you boys, but I think I'm gonna head home. Today was a real game-changer for us, wasn't it?" At their nods and murmurs of agreement, she began to make her way out of the alleyway. "I'll see you boys tomorrow," she added, waving to them.

"I can walk you home," said Stan out of nowhere. "I mean… if you want."

As if the events from earlier didn't happen, Emily could feel her heart flutter against her ribcage. After thinking about it for a few seconds, a gentle smile formed on her lips as she nodded. Stan smiled back as they made their way to the girl's house, taking their bikes with them.

They set out down Ewen Street, both of them conversing as if it were just any other day while Emily rolled slightly from side to side with the pressure of pushing her bike - the famous Emily Waddle. Her hands gripped the handlebars as she laughed at some things Stan was saying, and he did the same thing. They even got to find out more facts about one another, which delighted them.

It was a great moment for Emily; she was able to be calm and collected in front of Stan for the first time in a while, she got to ignore her crush on him, she was completely normal in front of him for now, and it was perfect. Only one time did she blush at one of his statements, but it went away just as quickly as it had shown up.

Eventually, however, the two stopped at the intersection between Witcham and Jackson Streets, still smiling over the words that had been exchanged between themselves. Emily looked towards her house, secretly not wanting to leave Stan, but she knew she had to sooner or later. So, she turned to him and playfully punched his arm as a farewell gesture. "I guess this is where I take my leave," she said casually. "See you tomorrow, Stan the Man."

"See you tomorrow, Em," he replied. He didn't leave just yet, though, and the two stared at each other for a second. But he then did something that neither of them expected, but it was something Stan considered a brave and daring move.

He leaned forward and kissed Emily's left cheek.

When he pulled back, the girl's eyes were wide with shock and her face was slowly turning red. He quickly said, "Bye," wanting to avoid embarrassment himself, jumping onto his bike and zooming away into the distance. Emily reached her hand up to her cheek, her skin burning where his lips had just been seconds earlier. A dumb grin was planted on her face as she blushed furiously, glad that Stan wasn't there anymore.

Her feelings for the boy were working overtime again. She pivoted and continued down the street to her house, trying to stride smartly but rolling with a slight waddle that everybody knew belonged uniquely to Emily Katherine Boleyn.

* * *

After Emily had entered the house and discovered that Charlotte wasn't home yet, she had gotten a bag of chips and soda and went to her bedroom, sitting on the mattress. As she ate and sipped on her drink, she found herself staring out the window, finding several children around the age of ten playing in the neighbor's front yard. It caused a smile of nostalgia to cross her face, and she almost wanted to be a little kid again, but she knew that it wasn't possible anymore.

What warmed her heart but also terrified her most deeply was the realization that these children were free and safe to roam the streets unhindered, unbothered by terrible people. But, when curfew hit in Derry, danger was always around the corner for them. She never felt safe since Georgie and all those kids vanished and she felt her mind being drawn back to that topic.

There was no danger to the children who walked the sundown streets of Derry, Maine.

At least, Emily pondered, not from without. But from within?

Was it possible that among these dozens of innocent children, there could be someone hiding right behind them, ready to commit a crime so heinous it made the gorge rise in your throat just thinking about it? It would be completely laughable had Georgie Denbrough not gone missing eight months ago. The thought that someone out there was so messed up that he would take small kids and even brutally murder them was a thought far more horrifying than just a regular killing in a big city.

You knew that at that second, that instant, that everything you had been brought up to believe, the security that you believed protected you, all of it was a filthy lie. Right before those arms wrapped around you and that disgusting hand covered your lips, blocking your oxygen, you wouldn't even know it was about to happen.

Emily shook her head, snapping herself out of the thought. "Get a freaking grip on yourself," she whispered to herself as she turned to look in the mirror. Then her eyes widened to the size of saucers at what she saw.

A figure was just outside her window, staring into the room with an insane smile on its face. The white face paint and the blood red lips were no mistake of recognition to Emily.

It was that clown again!

She whipped her head around, ready to give this prankster a piece of her mind, but she faltered her movements and froze. She was now completely confused, but that tiny hint of fear remained in her gut.

There was nobody there.

Despite this, Emily obeyed her instincts, rushing over to her window and pulling the curtains over it, blocking herself from view of anyone else. She smacked herself in the face to assure her mind that she wasn't crazy. "You're just seeing things," she said. "It's just a trick of the mind…"

But, for some reason, it didn't feel like it.

* * *

**A/N: READ THIS FOR SOME FUN TRIVIA!**

**Well, that was creepy... wasn't it? Another subtle but creepy scene with good old Pennywise! LEAVE EMILY ALONE!**

**What did you guys think of this chapter? Was it good? I hope it was for you guys!**

**Was the sewer scene funny as heck like in the 2017 film? I thought it was!**

**What about the scene before the ending? Was it unexpected? Was it adorable? Let me know!**

**Now, on with the trivia about this chapter: First, a tiny bit of the sewer scene in this chapter is from the original script by Chase Palmer, Cary Joji Fukunaga, Gary Dauberman, and Stephen King. I felt it would be nice to add a script/novel reference in there! ;) Second, the ending of this chapter was the ORIGINAL ending of Chapter Six, but I changed it to the Halloween-inspired scene.**

**Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Be looking forward to the next one! Have a great day, and until next time!**

**\- Hermione Romanoff**


	8. The Mystery of Missing Children

**DISCLAIMER: IT IS OWNED BY NEW LINE CINEMA AND WARNER BROS. STUDIOS! I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING EXCEPT FOR MY OC'S!**

**A/N: Well... I've just found out yesterday that I'm gonna be out of school for another three to four weeks (maybe even longer). That actually kind of sucks, but there's more time to write! :D But I have to do school online, which sucks even more! *brain explodes***

**Anyways, new chapter! The quarry scene, so I'm sure we're all excited! Especially me! YEE! No Pennywise in this chapter, so no need to be scared, okay? Okay! I hope you guys enjoy this one, since it's the longest one so far! :)**

_**SuperSentai199: Thanks! And I know, she's so kind to him! And it's okay if you forgot to leave a review. I have those days sometimes lol**_

_**robinmuffins: Well, that update was pretty quick lol. I'm glad you loved the last chapter as well as the others! And AGAIN, glad you dug the Halloween reference! Hope you enjoy this chapter!**_

_**MusicLover14: Being out of school can accomplish a lot of things. :) And the fact that Pennywise scares you doesn't surprise me at all. ADULTS are even scared of the monster, and that makes me laugh! I mean... sure he's creepy, but he's not scary to me. IT'S MY EVIL PLAN TO MAKE YOU LAUGH! MWAHAHAHAHA! "The Emily Waddle" is actually a reference to the 1979 novelization of the original Halloween! And... we already discussed the scene where Stan kissed Emily's cheek. Don't worry, more cute scenes between Stemily to come! :D**_

_**Guest: Aww! Thank you! :)**_

_**Angryfanfic: Okay, I'll try lol**_

_** .2020: I know, that was sweet! UWU!**_

_**Special thanks to SuperSentai199, robinmuffins, MusicLover14, Guest, briibriih, Angryfanfic, and .2020 for either leaving a review or favoriting/following the last chapter!**_

**Now, without further ado, here is the eighth chapter!**

* * *

_Two worlds collide_

_Rival nations_

_It's a primitive clash_

_Venting years of frustrations_

* * *

**_Chapter Eight: The Mystery of Missing Children_**

_June 15th, 1989_

_9:57 A.M._

Emily woke up much earlier the next day, and that was a good thing, since she was supposed to be meeting the others at the quarry later. As she laid in her bed for several minutes, her eyes rested upon the golden arching rays of the sunlight streaming through her window, knowing that the dark was far and ever lit by stars. It was the illumination that landed on her face that gave vivacious hues to this world of living art. It was a blessing to her considering the restless sleep she had had the night before.

After she had seen the strange figure dressed as a clown in her window, Emily had made sure her bedroom door was locked and that the curtains were shielding her from the outside world; she wasn't going to let anybody peep in on her again, even if it was just a prankster. She had tried to distract herself by watching _Gremlins_ on her television, and it mostly worked, but after she had gotten halfway through, she found her mind drifting back to what had happened over an hour earlier.

The occurrence had left her in a state of confusion but she was also creeped out majorly by the incident. She had no idea who the figure actually was because, even if they didn't have the white makeup on, she couldn't recognize whoever it was. It frustrated her a lot, but she was sure to not think about that too much, since it would possibly drive her insane. But what creeped her out the most was not the makeup or the ambiguity of the situation. No, it wasn't any of those at all.

It was the smile on the clown's face.

Actually, that didn't creep her out. It terrified her.

Emily knew that the second that clown formed that bone-chilling grin, it was not normal in the slightest. She was just barely able to point out the very sharp teeth that gleamed from the setting sun the night before. It greatly unnerved her and she hated it so much that it scared her; she had never been scared of anything since the abuse from her father had toughened her up. So the fact that she found something to be creepy or even mortifying was something that felt a little new to her. She didn't welcome that feeling, however.

Ignoring the bad feeling in her heart, the young girl kicked the blankets off of herself and carefully got out of bed; she made sure not to be too loud, since she would just annoy herself in the process. She walked over to her dresser and opened the top drawer, scanning through the undergarments as she tried to find her swimwear. She hadn't worn anything of the sort in forever so, for a moment, she thought that she didn't have a bathing suit at all. But, after several seconds of digging through the clothes, she finally found it and pulled it out, smiling as she did so.

It turned out that she, in fact, _did_ have swimwear; she just didn't remember that until recently. Emily's form of swimwear was a black two-piece and the top reminded her of a tank top that she normally wore when she went to bed at night. It was a beautiful bathing suit that she had only worn once before and that was when she and her mom went to the beach last summer. But that was in the past: 1988. She was now in the present: 1989. Things were not as easy now.

And that was proven by her sudden self-conscious nature, since she felt shy out of nowhere and it caused her to blush and hug her arms to herself. She was thinking to herself something that she wasn't aware of the day before, and it made her mentally slap herself.

The first thought that popped into her mind was that she had been friends with these boys for over a year and a half (minus Ben, since she had only met him yesterday), and she was quite close with them all, almost like they were her brothers. So why in the world was she suddenly so nervous to be in a two-piece bathing suit in front of them? They were her best friends, so it shouldn't have been a big deal to begin with. She was feeling very anxious that they would all stare at her just for showing a bit of skin in front of them.

And that was when she found the solution to her little problem.

Her friends were a part of the problem.

They were boys.

She was a girl.

_It's called growing up, sister, _thought Emily as she chuckled to herself. She shook her head, taking the bikini and tossing it onto her bed; she then got up and went to her closet, searching for some good clothes to wear. Emily groaned to herself when she couldn't find anything at first, and she wondered if she had done her laundry (even though it was quite obvious she had done so over the past week). She thought her clothes were cute, but that she herself didn't look cute in them, although Charlotte begged to differ.

After about five minutes of searching, she finally found a reasonable (not perfect) outfit that she could wear for the day. She decided to go the lazy route and pulled out a white t-shirt with the _Coca-Cola_ logo on it along with jean shorts that she figured were cute enough. She was only wearing them to cover her bikini until she got to the quarry, because she knew very well that she didn't want anyone to see her half-naked. That would just be embarrassing to the human eye, considering that she felt as if she were not pretty in the slightest. She could just picture the looks on the boys faces when she got there; they would probably be disgusted.

But her main problem was Stan. Ever since he had kissed her on the cheek the afternoon before, her feelings for him only rose dramatically in the hours that passed. And she was no longer anxious with this thought; she was _terrified_. She kept thinking about how he would react to her looking like this, the look on his face, and it scared her to death. Emily even thought about not going for a second, but she shook that away just as fast as it arrived, knowing that it was one of the dumbest ideas she had ever come up with.

Emily got her clothes on, tucking in the white t-shirt and then put on her sandals. Afterwards, she looked herself over in the mirror, examining how she looked and it was almost as if her reflection itself were judging her; she didn't like that. Nevertheless, she thought she looked decent enough, since this was how she often dressed in front of them anyways, so it wasn't a massive deal.

She then went downstairs, her purse slung over her shoulder as she did so, expecting to meet an empty living room and kitchen again. However, to her slight surprise, Charlotte was standing at the stove, cooking breakfast for the both of them with a small smile on her face. Her short bob of curly hair was a little messy due to her only being asleep twenty minutes earlier, but she still looked bright and cheerful despite this. This, in turn, made Emily grin happily as she herself stepped into the kitchen. She approached her mother from behind but decided to not scare her; that was something she would have done if it were any other day.

"Morning, Mom," she said merrily, embracing Charlotte tightly. Her mother hugged her back with a slight giggle, not wanting to let the girl know that she had flinched a little at the sudden voice.

"Good morning, sweetie," she replied, patting her daughter on the head after they pulled away. "I made eggs if you want some, and there's also bacon and toast." She tried to stifle yet another laugh at the dumb smile on Emily's face in response to this piece of information.

"Awesome!" said Emily, getting herself a plate of all three items of food before sitting at the dining table. She instantly began munching down on the delicious breakfast, which made Charlotte laugh hysterically; this was something her only child did all the time and it was always amusing. Nonetheless, she shook her head at her daughter's behavior, sitting down across from her with a plate of her own.

"Honey, you're gonna choke on that food if you eat it that fast," she chortled. "Slow down a little at least, you have all day."

This made Emily put her fork down for a moment, taking a second to swallow her food before she could get the chance to laugh. But all humor faded away by the time her breakfast was in her stomach, but she still smiled. "Mom, I'm going to the quarry with the others to swim later, remember?" she rebuked. This made her mother raise her eyebrows in bemusement, and she scoffed to herself, putting a hand on her forehead and shaking her head.

"Oh, my God," Charlotte whispered to herself. "I'm so sorry, Em. I completely forgot about that. It's just… the amount of work at the newspaper office is stressing me out. My boss is pretty difficult on me at times, and the writing is a little tough as well and I have to go in later today and -"

Emily stopped her mother's rambling by putting a hand on her arm, all the while giving her a reassuring look. "Mom, it's okay," she said around a stifled giggle. "I understand, you're busy. All parents that have jobs are busy a lot… I'm not that stupid and you don't need to be stressing yourself out. Now calm down and finish your breakfast so you can get ready for work…"

Charlotte nodded, a little floored but impressed by how well her daughter was able to comfort her so easily. Her eyes were a little wide in surprise, but she swept that away with a little bit of confidence that was deep down inside of her. "You're right, Em," she responded. "I'll go get ready for work then."

Emily smiled at her mother's newfound enthusiasm. "Good," she said. "In the meantime, I'm gonna go ahead and make my way to the quarry. I'll see you later, Mom. Love you." She bent down to give Charlotte a kiss on the cheek and another hug, which her mother gladly returned.

"Love you, too, sweetie," replied Charlotte. "Don't forget the curfew. Oh, and honey, remember that I'm working both shifts today so I won't be back until around midnight. So, you'll have to help yourself with dinner and that sort of thing."

Emily nodded in response, bidding farewell to her mother again before opening the front door and stepping out of the house, making sure to shut it behind her.

Although a part of her was thinking against it, Emily decided it would be best to take her bike with her since the quarry was quite the distance from her house, much to her surprise. So, she got on her bicycle and began pedaling away like she always did, appreciating the feelings of both the sun beating down on her slightly pale face and the wind combing through her hair like a brush. Even though the weather could sometimes suck in Derry, she loved it when the sun was shining and the air had a pleasant mood.

When she got to the square, she briefly stopped to get out her Walkman; she checked it to see if her mixtape was in it and, sure enough, it was. She put the headphones on and pressed Play, hearing the lyrics to Survivor's _Burning Heart_ blissfully fill her ears. The song was one of her favorites and _Rocky lV _was one of her favorite films of the four that existed.

_Bravely we hope_

_Against all hope_

_There is so much at stake_

_Seems our freedom's up_

_Against the rope_

As she pedaled faster, Emily felt like she _was_ Rocky Balboa, since his determination in the four movies always motivated her to stay strong and to keep going. He was quite possibly her favorite hero in film history since his character always had a message to him, which was inspiring. Sure, she liked a lot of other film heroes like Ash Williams from the _Evil Dead_ movies, Dr. Loomis from the _Halloween_ franchise, or even Ellen Ripley from the two _Alien_ movies. But Rocky kind of spoke to her as a hero, and she found that special about the movies.

Snapping herself out of her thoughts as Blue Öyster Cult's _(Don't Fear) The Reaper_ blasted through her earbuds. She made several turns, the wind blowing her hair behind her so she could see where she was going, much to her relief. After a while, however, she finally approached Kansas Street, which allowed her to slow down as she approached the edge of the woods. She got off of the bike, walking it over to a tree and hooking it up, locking it afterwards so nobody would steal it. She then proceeded with caution through the green forest, a little overwhelmed by its beauty, and she wished that she could be as pretty as the marvelous trees that surrounded her.

A part of Emily was a little concerned that she wouldn't find her friends and that she would get lost. But if she did, then that meant she would be completely vulnerable for anybody

_(a clown for example)_

to grab a hold of her and take her to where she would never be found. She shuddered at the idea, thinking she was crazy for ever inventing that thought, and she really wanted to throw herself off of a bridge for pondering that. But she didn't. She just kept walking until she heard voices in the near distance, which made her perk up a little. A small smile formed on her lips as she crept out of a clearing to see five boys standing near the edge of a cliff and it seemed as if they were waiting for her.

"Hello, boys!" she greeted, and they all turned to look at her. "I hope I'm not late to the party."

They all shook their heads, and Emily could see a dumb grin on Stan's face when he locked eyes with her. She chose to not react with anything but a smile as Eddie spoke up.

"No, you got here earlier than we thought," answered Eddie, and the girl nodded.

Almost immediately after Eddie said this, the five boys began to strip from the clothes they were currently wearing, which dumbfounded Emily a little; Ben decided to follow their lead, although he looked very uncomfortable about the situation. Meanwhile, the young girl was frozen to the spot, her eyebrows raised when they were just in their boxers. She had the insane urge to turn away, but she was being brave and not doing that, instead slowly removing her t-shirt and shorts; she tossed them to the side afterwards, and hugged her arms to her chest, as if shielding herself from sight, but she knew that was impossible.

She looked up after a while to see that all of the boys had merely glanced at her, but they turned away out of respect, and she let out a quiet sigh of relief. But she looked in her direction again and saw that Stan had been looking at her for a little longer than the others had and she blushed furiously when he quickly took his eyes off of her. Once more, Emily felt her left cheek burning from where his lips had been the previous day and her face turned even redder. She fought back a smile in the process.

Meanwhile, Stan was barely able to focus after he had turned around to look at Emily. His heart kicked into overdrive when he saw her in her two-piece, so he had quickly diverted his gaze when she locked eyes with him. He was mainly thinking about her hair, how the waves of pure earth had softly reflected in the light of the bright sun, each strand moving freely in an ocean-born breeze. His heart kicked into overdrive just picturing that again, and it was ready to burst out of his chest when the girl he liked walked up to all of them, her brown hair now in a ponytail.

"Where's Beverly?" asked Ben, a little bit of hope but disappointment in his voice, and Emily's head bobbed up and down in response.

"I was thinking that, too," she said, turning around to see if said girl was actually behind them.

She wasn't.

"I d-don't know," Bill said. "M-M-Maybe she j-just isn't here yet."

Emily hoped that what the boy had said was true, worrying for Beverly's safety for a second. Sure, she barely knew her at all, but she already saw her as a friend, so she was praying that the redhead was okay. This was especially considering all of the children that had gone missing over the past eight months, so that fact frightened her a little more.

"Well, we should wait a little longer for her," she added, and the boys all nodded in agreement. Confirming what she had said, Emily stepped slightly closer to the edge of the cliff, staring down at the water that patiently waited for them all, and she was a little nervous about the long drop; she said nothing, not wanting to sound like a wimp.

"Let's play loogie," suggested Eddie, and Emily grimaced slightly, rolling her eyes.

"Oh, I'm _so_ gonna win, because I am the loogie _champion_, fellas!" exclaimed Richie, pumping his fist into the air.

"And I am so out of this, because I'm not a bunch of dweebs like you morons," quipped Emily, taking a small step back from the others. This statement made all of the boys laugh, since they knew she was just joking. That was how it went when you knew Emily Boleyn for a year and a half.

"Lay it out," said Eddie, and Richie was the first to hawk back, producing a wad of spit in his gums and letting it out into the water below. He chuckled after this.

Stan followed, admittedly doing better than Richie.

"Oh, my God," muttered Richie as Bill let out a more direct spit. "So easy."

Ben then went after Bill, doing the best so far. All the while, Emily just watched, an amused smirk on her face the entire time. She even had to hold back a howl of laughter when Eddie's spit landed merely at his feet. Richie's mouth opened wide in shock and he wasn't able to hide his scoff.

"Oh, my God, that was terrible! I win!" he yelled victoriously. Eddie looked at him, his eyebrows raised in protest.

"What?! _You_ won?!" he shouted as Ben, Bill, and Stan looked at Richie.

"Yeah," said Richie.

"Did you _see _my loogie?!" Eddie shot back. Emily rolled her eyes in response and, once again, she and Stan shared a look, trying to stifle laughter.

"_Mine_ went the furthest! We've been going for distance!"

"Mass. It's always been mass," corrected Eddie.

Emily moved to where she was standing with the boys again, waving her hands around. "Okay, okay, boys!" she said over their bickering. "That's enough. Besides, it's fair to say that _Stan_ won. Jesus, what do we do about you two? Y'all act like a married couple 24/7!"

Bill snapped the three out of their small argument by pointing down to the water. "Who's fuh-first?" he asked, looking at all of them. And this question made everyone shut up, looking down to what seemed to be endless depths of blue and green water.

None of them wanted to make the first move and jump, not even Emily, and she had admitted that she was braver than all of them when it came to stuff like this. She was scared she would jump the wrong way and either bash her head on the side of the cliff or break her neck. Heck, she was even terrified of dying upon impact with the water. So that was why she -

"I'll go!"

Emily jumped slightly as her thoughts were shattered by the sudden voice merrily calling out to them. She turned around to see Beverly dropping her bike down on its side and a grin formed on her face in relief because of the fact that she wouldn't be the only girl here. But she was more surprised at the fact that the redhead was making quick work of removing her white sundress, obviously being more brave than she herself was currently.

But the thing that stood out to the brown-haired girl the most was that Beverly's red hair that was a long and wavy sea of lava the day before was now cut very short to a choppy, yet more fitting set of curls. As they glimmered in the sun's rays, Emily was still reminded of the burnt orange sunset that always came over Derry in the beautiful days of summer, this afternoon soon to be one of them. The redhead finally removed her dress completely and carelessly tossed it onto her bike.

It seemed that Emily was probably the least brave of them all, since Beverly was also in her undergarments, a white bikini top and light blue underwear.

She was brave just like the others.

"Sissies!" chuckled Beverly as she rushed towards them, her fiery hair bouncing against her head and a wide grin of joy and amusement on her face. She ran right through them, since they had moved out of the way to let her pass, and she gracefully leapt off of the cliff and flew through the air like a bird.

"What the heck?!" yelled Richie as the redhead descended towards the water in what looked like slow motion for a moment. But, after several seconds, everything came back into focus as she hit the watery abyss below, and Emily thought for just a second that she wouldn't submerge.

But, to her relief, she did.

"Jesus!" continued Richie. "We just got shown up by a girl!"

Seeing the confidence in Beverly's face before she had jumped into the water sparked a whole new wash of courage through Emily. She tightened her ponytail a little so it wouldn't come undone when she did this, and she took a few steps back from the edge of the cliff. She took a deep breath, running her left hand over her face, motivated by the fire Beverly had within herself. It was starting to spark up a little in her as well.

"Em, what are you doing?!" Stan exclaimed, a panicked look on his face.

"Not the time!" shouted Emily in response, ignoring everyone around her as she sprinted for what looked like the end of the world to her. It seemed as if she were racing to cross the finish line in first place as she felt her feet leave the ground, two lines of lyrics from _Blackbird_ ringing through her ears; it was quite possibly her favorite song by The Beatles.

_Blackbird singing in the dead of night_

_Take these broken wings and learn to fly_

That was what the young girl felt like.

She opened her eyes in shock, and she was falling. Her perception of time distorted, everything slowed down just for her until there was nothing, just her and the lake below. Her hand subconsciously reached out, kissing the air that traveled through her fingers as she felt her stomach flipping multiple times. She even felt herself suspended in mid-air for half a second and she closed her eyes, surrendering herself to the infinite waters below.

Emily was _free_.

She had forgotten all about the disappearances, her abusive father, and even the fact that there were six other kids with her at the same time. But that feeling of peace was suddenly broken away from her when an icy jolt made shivers course through her whole body as the water engulfed her and hid her away from everything else. And that was when she finally remembered that it had been a long time since she had actually swam. She hadn't gone swimming in a pool or a water park in almost three years.

_Am I still able to do it? _she thought to herself frantically as she struggled to reach the surface. She was scared that she was going to drown and nobody would notice.

But, after a few seconds, her head broke through the water and she gasped for fresh air. Beverly noticed this and swam towards her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You okay?" she asked, concern lacing her voice. The girl nodded, not even needing to answer her with reassuring words.

Emily craned her neck up to look at the five boys that were still staring down at them. She noticed them sharing anxious looks, still a little scared to take the dive and a little worried that they would look like sissies because she herself and Beverly had been the first ones to take that leap of faith. It made her chuckle to herself and she cupped her hands around her mouth.

"Come on, boys!" she shouted. "Don't be wimps! Be brave like us girls!"

"Yeah, come on!" Beverly yelled up to the boys, adding onto Emily's statement.

One by one, all five of them jumped in after the girls, Bill being first and Emily gave him a cheer of approval. When all of them were in the water, it turned into a joyous time for every single one of them.

And it was the happiest Emily had been in months or even _years_.

After the boys and girls swam to a more shallow part of the quarry, there were a lot of times where they splashed each other; even a game of Chicken Fight ensued, which Emily of course joined, going up against Stan. It was a rather intense match between the two since they were both equal to one another, and it lasted a lot longer than the other matches had.

Let's just say that Emily was victorious over the boy she had a crush on.

But, after a while, the games grew quite boring, much to Emily's disappointment. So the seven teenagers swam ashore and onto the dry land, and she was positive that the scorching sun that shined over Derry, Maine would dry them off eventually. The girl pulled her hair out of the scrunchie she had used to keep it up as she sat down next to Stan; at the same time, Richie went to get the boombox he had brought with him as the others all rested on the rocky area, and he turned on the mixtape that was inside. Almost instantly, the very familiar music of AC/DC's _You Shook Me All Night Long_ blasted through the speakers and Emily smiled.

_She was a fast machine_

_She kept her motor clean_

_She was the best damn woman I had ever seen_

_She had the slightless eyes_

Emily bobbed her head a little, tapping her fingers against her knee as no wind whatsoever breezed by. Although she could feel the heat drenching into the pores of her skin, she knew that wasn't the only thing landing on her body. But she didn't dare turn in the opposite direction, instead staring at the water about a dozen feet in front of her. She felt the sensation of blissfulness in her soul because she was with her friends, despite having met two of them only yesterday. She had instantly welcomed Beverly and Ben into the group regardless if they were new or not and it seemed as if the others did as well.

And that was good enough for her, since she was beyond happy that another girl was in the Losers' Club with her.

Richie's rock n' roll music concluded and the lyrics of Young MC's _Bust a Move_ began. Emily sighed, suddenly wanting to rip off her ears and throw them to where she would never see them again. She hated this song with a passion, but she was forced to listen to it. She would rather listen to AC/DC's worst songs, since they were at least still decent. For God's sake, _Nervous Shakedown_ was her guilty pleasure. She _loved_ that song!

_This here's a tail for all the fellas_

_Tryin' to do what those ladies tell us_

_Get shot down cause ya over-zealous_

_Play hard to get females get jealous_

Emily finally glanced to her left and saw that four of the boys were staring ahead, transfixed on something; and this made her follow their gazes. And when her eyes landed on what the boys were staring at - or rather, _who_ \- she couldn't stop the very amused smirk from forming on her face.

_I should have known, _she thought to herself, hiding her giggles from the others.

The boys were staring at the one and only Beverly Marsh, who was lying on a towel and soaking in the sun with rather large sunglasses concealing her eyes from the sunlight. Her red hair seemed to be the only thing that the girl was staring at for a small moment and she wondered how any girl could have hair in that specific color. It honestly floored her and she wished that she could be as pretty as Beverly, but she wasn't jealous at all, which was a good thing.

After a few seconds, Emily looked away and saw that Stan was looking at her, which made her smile. The boy beside cast a small glance at Beverly and then at the boys, before focusing his gaze on Emily again; he rolled his eyes because of the behavior of the others. The young girl laughed alongside him and nobody else seemed to notice them going into hysterics over what they were doing. Emily even had to cover her mouth so they wouldn't hear her.

It took them a while to calm down, but they eventually did, still chuckling a little. Emily then lost herself in Stan's eyes and he was doing the same thing with her, although she didn't notice. She didn't do anything else but sit there and stare, not even realizing what she was doing. She could feel herself disappearing in the deep sienna color that she found so beautiful several months ago, and she felt her heart skip several or even a hundred beats under his own stare.

Emily suddenly heard a small ruckus and snapped herself out of her dazed situation. She saw the other boys quickly looking away from Beverly because she had caught them staring at her. The young girl felt heat rushing to her face and her cheeks were kissed pink like a rose, the blossoming color complimenting the freckles that lied just under her eyes. She frantically glanced away from Stan but he looked at her for just a few seconds longer, and he allowed her time to compose herself, fighting back the smile that threatened to form on his face. He thought that she looked so adorable in her small moment of embarrassment, but he was wondering why she had looked away so suddenly, a little disappointed that he wasn't able to see her chocolate brown eyes.

"News flash, Ben!" Richie yelled playfully in yet another atrocious accent, this one of either a disc jockey or radio announcer. "School's out for summa!" It turns out that he had just discovered the new kid's plethora of books and binders. He had even found a postcard and had turned it over to read what it said out loud, but Ben snatched it away before anyone could hear it. This, in turn, made Emily smirk at the boy, but he shook his head at her.

"What's with the history project?"

As Richie asked this question, Beverly had sat up from her towel while Emily and the others turned to Ben, their interest piqued.

"Oh," started Ben, a little uncomfortable because all eyes were on him. But he began to explain to them about the amount of papers he had in his backpack. "Well, when I first moved here, I didn't really have anyone to hang out with, so I just started spending time in the library."

_Jesus, this kid had a rough start in this awful town,_ thought Emily.

"You went to the _library_?" scoffed Richie, who was trying to hold back a bark of laughter. "On _purpose_?!"

"Beep Beep, Richie," Emily deadpanned with a glare, and he shut up.

Beverly got up completely and started walking over to them. "Oh, I wanna see." She sat down next to Bill, who was busy reading over Ben's research. Meanwhile, both Emily and Stan moved closer to the others so they could see the newspaper clippings and pictures much better than they were able to.

"What's the Black Spot?" asked Stan.

Richie turned to him, pushing his glasses up slightly onto his nose. "The Black Spot was a nightclub that was burned down years ago by that racist cult," he informed Stan and Emily, who knew nothing about this stuff. It shocked the girl that Derry seemed to have a darker past than she really realized, and she found herself wanting to know more, which surprised her even more.

"What?!" Stan exclaimed in disbelief.

Richie replied, "Don't you watch _Geraldo_?"

Emily saw Bill turn his attention to Beverly, and she noticed that his eyes were searching for the right words to say. "You… You're hair…" he muttered to the redhead.

Bev was a little confused, but she waited patiently for him to continue anyway; she also looked a little anxious and self-conscious, which made Emily cringe.

In her mind, the young girl was begging her best friend to follow his paused statement with something smooth. _I'll beat this kid up if he doesn't say something else in the next three seconds._

"Your hair's beautiful, Beverly," Ben said very nonchalantly, but with a sweet smile. Emily nodded to herself, relieved that the new kid had swooped in and made the epic save. But she still felt bad for the three that were in a love triangle, and she was glad that she wasn't part of such an atrocity.

"Oh," Beverly replied, running a hair over her cropped hair with a smile on her face; Emily was the only one who noticed the smallest amount of disappointment in the redhead's eyes. "Right. Thanks."

Emily chuckled quietly when she saw Bill's small glare that was sent towards Ben, and the two locked eyes. She herself raised an eyebrow, her glance ordering the stutter boy to behave, and his irritated expression faded. He nodded, agreeing to obey her, and she gave him a friendly smile.

Richie then told Bill to hand him the papers, and he did, allowing the bespectacled boy to examine the newspaper headlines once more. Some of the words stood out to Emily, and she grimaced at others, a question eventually popping up in her mind that she didn't dare ask Ben. Richie had other ideas, however.

"Why's it all murders and missing kids?" he inquired.

"Derry's not like any town I've ever been in before," replied Ben in a hesitant voice as Eddie moved a little closer to them so he could also see the papers. "They did a study once… and it turns out, people die or disappear six times the national average."

"Seriously?" breathed out Emily, her eyes wide in concern.

Beverly asked, "You read that?" Her voice was low and soft as she said it, confirming that she didn't even know about this stuff.

Ben nodded solemnly, his eyebrows scrunched together in his own personal worry. "And that's just grownups," he added. "Kids are worse…" He then looked at the others, not sure if he should continue, but he figured that it was right if he did. "_Way_, way worse… I've got more stuff at my house. You wanna see?"

Emily was the first to nod, elbowing Eddie when she saw him shake his head. She briefly looked at Ben and silently told him that she wanted to see what else he had about this.

Because, honestly, although this was very worrying for her, she _was_ interested.

* * *

After a while and after the seven were completely dry, they all hopped onto their bikes, Emily being the last to do so since she had left hers at the edge of the woods. When she did that, they all pedaled to the Hanscom residence, the young girl's mind filled with curiosity as Ben led the way to his house. Stan rode beside her, as expected, and she was pretty used to that at this point. She still cast him smiles every once in a while, and he always returned them.

The teenage girl had to make sure to be as slow as possible, mostly because she didn't want to be far away from Stan, but she also didn't want to pedal ahead of Ben. But that was a little difficult; 'T-800' was a pretty fast bike, and it had taken her a while to get used to it, especially since she never knew how to even ride a bicycle beforehand. So she just kept up to speed with Stan, the two of them behind the others.

"Emily?"

She turned to look at the boy with very curly, dirty blonde hair and she noticed that he was giving her a small smile, although he seemed very shy. She found the sight rather cute, but she didn't show it. "What?" she asked, amusement filling her voice.

"You look really pretty today," he mumbled so only she could hear him. And she did.

"I highly doubt that, but thank you anyway," she giggled, looking away a little.

She didn't see Stan shake his head in response, but she did hear what he said next.

"No, don't say that," he said, a little more confident. "You look pretty all the time, so don't say that about yourself."

Emily was now blushing furiously, and he noticed. "Thank you, Stan," she said quietly as they pulled into Ben's driveway.

"No problem."

The group of seven set their bikes down after this and followed Ben up to the front door. Emily waited for Stan to put his kickstand down and, at the same time, Eddie's handlebars snagged on his fanny pack, which sent him tumbling to the ground after it. All four of them laughed hysterically as Emily helped Eddie get up before they followed the other three into the house.

Ben had unlocked the door with his house key, allowing them to go in before him like a polite gentleman; so, when Emily looked into the living room, she noticed that it wasn't as beautiful as her own. It was like that there were enough things for a few people to get by, but not as much as she and her mother had. She was still impressed by how nice it looked nonetheless.

"I live here with my mom," Ben explained to the others. "We don't have much stuff 'cause we used to move around a lot. She won't be home for another hour or two."

The boy then led them down the hall and to his bedroom. The other teenagers were quiet, with the exception of Richie and Eddie, who were deeply engrossed in a conversation. Ben opened the door for them, and Emily took in the sight before her as she walked in.

Ben's room was almost exactly like her own, which didn't really surprise her in the slightest. He had a bookshelf in a corner that was closest to the window that overlooked Privet Street, along with some posters of his favorite bands (okay, that was a difference, since Emily had horror movie posters), and even a cardboard that held dozens of cassette tapes. But the one thing that stuck out the most to Emily in his room was also the most unsettling part.

The walls.

It seemed as if Ben had been doing more research than Emily really thought, and it frightened her a great deal. The bedroom walls were covered head to toe with newspaper clippings, black and white photos, sheets of notebook paper with the boy's scribbled handwriting on them, and lots and lots of 'MISSING' posters, the amount ranging from around three to almost two dozen.

_How can he sleep in here with this stuff surrounding him?_ Emily exclaimed in her mind.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! _Wow!_" Richie breathed out.

"Cool, huh?" said Ben, feeling impressed with what he had done. Emily gave him a nod of approval, although she was very creeped out.

Richie, however, shook his head, his gaze never moving from the plastered walls. "No, no, nothing _cool_," he replied snarkily. "Oh, _this_ is cool right here!" he added, picking up something from Ben's desk. "Wait, no, no, it's not cool…"

Emily rolled her eyes at Richie's behavior, but chose not to say anything, more interested in Ben's findings. She didn't care that she was close friends with Richie, she was just annoyed when he wanted attention. But she ignored it, turning to the walls again.

Stan, who had been scanning the papers pinned to the wall, pointed to one sheet in particular on the far end of the room. "What's that?" he asked.

Ben followed his gaze and peered closer at it before perking up. "Oh, that? That's the charter for Derry township." Since Stan had asked the question, the others had crowded around to get a better look.

"Nerd alert!" Richie warned, adjusting his glasses again.

"Boy, you lack self awareness!" Emily told him, and the two shared a moment of laughter.

"No, it's actually really interesting," Ben defended himself, much to Emily's delight. "Derry started as a beaver-trapping camp."

Richie, who still couldn't help himself, raised a hand into the air and looked at the others. "Still is!" he declared. "Am I right, boys?!" Stan simply shook his head, unamused, while Emily face-palmed. Bill remained engrossed in the topic, while Beverly was focused on something else.

"Ninety-one people signed the charter that made Derry," Ben continued, "but later that winter, they all disappeared without a trace."

"_The entire camp?_" asked Eddie, a mixture of curiosity and nervousness in his voice.

"There were rumors of Indians, but no sign of an attack," he answered, focused on the charter. "Everybody just thought it was a plague or something, but it's just like one day, everybody just woke up and left. The only clue was a trail of bloody clothes leading to the Well House."

Emily had blocked out the rest of the conversation, looking at all of the missing posters and sucked into her own little world. She blamed herself for not figuring this stuff out so much sooner, but she had never found the time to read up on it. This information both interested her and upset her at the same time, knowing that something back must have happened to those people a long time ago. But she was also weirded out that no evidence had been found after the event.

It was very worrying for her.

"Wuh-Where was the Well House?" asked Bill, finally speaking for the first time since they had gotten to Ben's home.

Ben shrugged as he looked at Bill, and it seemed as if he really didn't know the answer to that question. "I don't know. Somewhere in town, I guess. Why?"

Bill turned his gaze back to the photos, almost as if he had come back into focus. "Nothing," he said quietly, shaking his head a little.

_What a terrible lie, Denbrough,_ Emily thought to herself.

She knew he was lying.

* * *

**A/N: Well... the kids are beginning to learn about Pennywise. We all know what is to follow... but I won't say anything, because I don't want to spoil anything! *smirks***

**ANYWAYS, what did you guys think of this chapter? Was it good?**

**Was the quarry scene faithful to the movie? I thought so! Let me know!**

**What about the small moments between Emily and Stan? STEMILY is going to sail soon enough, so don't you guys worry! :D :D :D**

**This chapter was just lighthearted humor and fun, which is definitely what I have not been feeling for the past week. Something very sudden happened in my family a few days ago, and I won't go into detail here, since it's a sensitive topic.**

**But, anyway, I'll just go! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Be looking forward to the next one! Have a great day, and until next time!**

**\- Hermione Romanoff**


	9. Cleaning Bathrooms and Rock Wars

**DISCLAIMER: IT IS OWNED BY NEW LINE CINEMA AND WARNER BROS. STUDIOS! I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING EXCEPT FOR MY OC'S!**

**A/N: Yay! Another chapter! Right before I have to start all of my schoolwork because of the freaking corona virus! I'm so annoyed. *sigh***

**Also, I'm listening to Emily's Playlist as I type this and I did while I wrote this chapter! This is basically the scene where the Losers clean Beverly's bathroom and the rock fight, with a surprise scene at the beginning! :)**

_**SuperSentai199: Thank you! And yes, they will be cute together! :')**_

_**MusicLover14: YES IT IS! MWAHAHAHAHA! STEMILY FOR LIFE! Yes, Mackenzie Foy is freaking beautiful! *cries* Thank you for praying for my family (specifically my dad). Keep on praying. And yes, I will gladly join that group hug!**_

_**robinmuffins: I'm glad that was your favorite chapter! You will probably love this one as well! :) I'm glad you liked the music references! **_**Don't Fear the Reaper_ is one of my favorite songs because of the original Halloween! And I will say it again, Happy Birthday!_**

**_ .2020: Thanks!_**

**_Meguhanu: Thank you! And don't worry, you'll get that in this chapter! ;)_**

**_Special thanks to SuperSentai199, MusicLover14, robinmuffins, .2020 and Meguhanu for leaving a review on the last chapter!_**

**Now, without further ado! On with the ninth chapter!**

* * *

_Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream_

_Make him the cutest that I've ever seen_

_Give him two lips like roses and clover_

_Then tell him that his lonesome nights are over_

* * *

_**Chapter Nine: Cleaning Bathrooms and Rock Wars**_

Emily was currently in her room, hanging up her clothes in the closet after she had gotten them out of the dryer. She sighed to herself as she did so, wondering how she had to wash so many clothes within the past week, since she really didn't wear that many. But, then again, she did actually attend school the week before, so that might have explained the little problem. But… _still_! She hated having to do her laundry, since she wore too many clothes to count.

After a while, she finally got done putting her clothes in the closet, and she closed it; she made sure to leave it open a tiny bit despite this. This was something she always did since the door would get stuck sometimes when she tried to open it; it really annoyed her when she had to deal with this, but she got used to it over time, and it was better than nothing. She never asked for a replacement and she was fine with the closet door that she had.

The teenage girl went to her bookshelf and got a random book before sitting down on her bed. Her radio was already on and the song, _Mr. Sandman _by The Chordettes was softly traveling through her ears and she found herself at peace. She covered her legs with her blanket and opened up the book she had, _The Shining _by Stephen King, which was one of her favorites. She began to read the words all over again as the lyrics of the signature song from the _Halloween_ movies resonated with her.

_Sandman, I'm so alone_

_Don't have nobody to call my own_

_Please turn on your magic beam_

_Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream_

It was currently _10:30_ at night and her mother had still not gotten home from work, so she was left all by herself in her comfortable bedroom. Charlotte had told her that her shift would end at around midnight, and Emily was just waiting for the hands on the clock to hit that time. But, for now, since there was an hour and a half before she got home, the young girl was just going to sit here and read, which was something that she always did. Who could blame her? It was very peaceful and it took her mind off of things.

But, as of tonight, it was actually a little difficult for Emily to focus on the book.

_Mr. Sandman (yes), bring us a dream_

_Give him a pair of eyes with a "come-hither" gleam_

_Give him a lonely heart like Pagliacci_

_And lots of wavy hair like Liberace_

The seven teenagers had stayed at Ben's house a little longer after learning more about the missing kids. They all discussed their plans for the near future and what they wanted to be when they got older, which further strengthened their bonds.

Bill told them that he wanted to be a writer if he were able to fully take off with that. He expressed his passion for publishing a book one day, and the other six had all voiced their support most definitely, especially Emily. She told him that she believed him and that she could totally see him being an author, and he thanked her happily. After this, Stan explained that he wanted to be an accountant after he got out of college, and Emily joked that she was never good at math like he was and they all laughed, and the boy secretly blushed.

Ben informed them that he was interested in pursuing an architectural career path, and introduced them to some plans and projects that he had been designing. They were all impressed, especially Emily and Beverly, when he showed them his designs for a clubhouse. Following this, before he could even speak, Emily said that she predicted Richie would be a comedian one day, which caused him to roll his eyes. He then said that she was correct but was irritated that he didn't just say it himself.

Eddie spoke about wanting to be a doctor to help people in serious medical situations, and Emily happily told him that the career would be perfect for him.

The only two teenagers who weren't so sure about their career pathways were Beverly and Emily herself, and the boys teased them a little, but said nothing negative about it, respecting them. After their discussion, they had hung out on the floor and played Monopoly until Ben's mother, Arlene, returned home from work.

Since then, the friends had departed and went their separate ways. Emily had hopped onto 'T-800' and pedaled home, which wasn't that far from Ben's house.

And, right now, she was on page ten of _The Shining_ just as _Hip to be Square_ by Huey Lewis began to blare on the radio, and Emily felt more at peace when she heard the lyrics.

_I used to be a renegade, I used to fool around_

_But I couldn't take the punishment, and had to settle down_

_Now I'm playing it real straight, and yes I cut my hair_

_You might think I'm crazy, but I don't even care_

'_Cause I can tell what's going on_

_It's hip to be square_

_It's hip to be square_

Emily kept thinking about the missing children; it was _all_ she was able to think about recently, and it really annoyed her that it was her only thought. She wished that something else would come along and take over her mind instead of this. It was a very upsetting and sensitive topic for her, even if nothing had happened to her directly.

Yet.

And now, learning this new information about Derry's past was starting to worry her even more. She hated it just as much as she hated the town itself, but that wasn't her fault, or her mother's, or her friends' and it never would be. She just ended up moving here of all places because she needed to escape her abusive father, and at least it was better than how it was in Indianapolis. There, she had no real friends at all and the ones she did have were all fake and they never liked her. But here, she had amazing friends, even if two of them were very new members of the Losers' Club, and she even had a crush on one of the boys.

That was when she thought of him, her other thoughts breaking away from the current topic.

Stan.

He had told her that she looked really pretty after they had left the quarry. Of course, it was something that was completely unexpected and it caught her off guard. She herself didn't believe his statement but he sounded genuinely serious, which only made her blush and look away. And she wished that she would stop being shy in front of him; but, at the same time, this was something completely new for Emily, and her first boyfriend never made her feel this way. Maybe it was a good thing that Stan made her go red in the face out of embarrassment, maybe it was a good feeling when her heart raced in her chest just at the sight of him. Maybe she _was_ happy when he had kissed her on the cheek the day before.

Maybe she didn't have a crush. What if she were falling in love with Stanley Uris?

But did he feel the same way?

She had a tiny bit of hope that he did, but it wasn't that much. If he did, her world would be complete, but if he didn't, that was okay.

"_Emily!"_

The sudden voice made her jump a little. Her mixtape had long since stopped playing and there was nothing but silence in the room now. She no longer felt comfortable, but unnerved at the stillness and that did not sit right with her. All she wanted was to get out another mixtape and drown herself in music again but, for some reason, she was too nervous to get off of the bed. She didn't know why, she just sensed something bad around her.

"_Emily!"_

The voice now had her full attention, but Emily didn't know where it was coming from. This both confused her and frustrated her, and she wanted to know the source of the voice; but how was she supposed to do that when she didn't know where whoever said her name was in the first place? She had no idea.

"_Come join us, Emily…"_

The voice was a little louder than it was before, but it was still quiet, even if Emily could hear it. But the weird part was this: it sounded throaty and raspy, and that was a very peculiar thing for Emily's ears to stand. And it sounded like it was nearby and extremely close to the girl, which only piqued her interest further. She leaned forward on her bed, tilting her head to have better access to the voice just in case she heard it again. She was positive that she would figure out its location soon enough.

"_Come float with us…"_

_What in the world? _thought Emily as she slowly got off of the bed.

The voice was coming from the closet.

And she was now approaching it with extreme caution, hoping that it was not just some trick of the mind. If it weren't, she had her pocket knife in her right hand and she would be ready to confront whoever was in her closet. Just to make herself feel better, she made herself hear the lyrics to Alice Cooper's _Welcome to my Nightmare_ in her mind.

_Welcome to my nightmare_

_I think you're gonna like it_

_I think you're gonna feel like you belong_

_A nocturnal vacation_

Her hammering heartbeat slowed down just a little, but not that much. With each beat that continuously hit against her ribcage, Emily could feel the fright within her rise, and she had never been scared in years. Her eyes never left the closet as her fingers wrapped around the door handle, ready to open it within seconds. She took a deep breath, praying over and over that nobody was behind the closet door, and muttering "You've got this!" over and over again.

And she opened the door.

Without warning, Emily lurched backward when she heard a high pitched yell come from the closet; she screamed at the top of her lungs at the sudden scare as she fell to the floor, the pocket knife dropping from her hand. She tried to collect herself as she looked up to see what had lunged at her, and when she could, her eyes widened to the size of saucers, another scream refusing to leave her throat.

"_Oh, Emily… Why won't you play with me?"_

Emily's body was stiff, and she wasn't able to process the words he

_(It)_

had just said. It's voice was soft and delicate, but very hoarse, and that was the uneasy bit; this was especially considering what Emily was currently locking eyes with.

"_Oh, please play with me. I haven't had the feeling in so long. Don't you want to play, Emily?"_

Standing in front of her was that dumb clown she had been seeing outside of her window for the past few days and it looked far more terrifying in person. It was wearing a silk, baggy suit of silver with orange pompoms and a collar ruff. It had a haunting white face and a bald head with red hair on either side. It seemed as if its lips were covered in blood red lipstick that could have been mistaken for the actual fluid.

But the worst and scariest part was its eyes. They were big and golden, very unnaturally yellow, and it was unnerving to the girl. And she didn't like the way the clown stared down at her, its eyes seemingly glowing.

"W… Wuh-What the heck?!" stammered Emily as she crawled backwards to her door. "Who… What-_What_ are you?!" She couldn't take her eyes off of the figure, she didn't dare to in case he

_(the demon)_

tried something sinister or heinous.

"_Oh, I haven't introduced myself. My apologies! I'm Pennywise the Dancing Clown! And I was just visiting you on this very sad night, if you didn't mind." _It then grinned that inhuman smile that Emily had seen just the day before, and she felt a shiver make a troubled journey down her spine as she struggled to get up.

"No, I _do_ mind!" she snapped at the clown bravely. "This makes no sense! You can't be real! Stay away from me!"

The clown

_(Pennywise)_

grinned even more. "_Why can't I be real, dearie?"_ It asked mockingly. "_After all, you _are _talking to me! So, why can't this be real?"_

"I said get away from me!" Emily snarled, her heart pounding so loudly that she could hear it thudding in her ears.

The air suddenly froze and died away, not allowing Emily to breathe, and when It heard those words, the smile on its face disappeared instantly. It looked angry, but its eyes didn't; they were looking at the young girl with a longing expression as drool started sliding down from the corner of Its mouth.

Emily just barely resisted the urge to gag at the sight. She felt incredibly queasy and nauseous, but she didn't dare show it in front of this monster.

"_Time to float, dear Emily! But don't worry, your little friends will be next!"_

Before Emily even had the chance to respond, the clown pounced at her, which made the scream stuck in her throat finally leave her lips. It tore through her like a shard of glass as she got up and bolted for the bedroom door; luckily, it was able to open and she sprinted out of the room, making sure to get as far away from him as possible. She took the stairs two at a time as she practically jumped down them. She stumbled slightly, but maintained her balance so she wouldn't fall.

After getting to the living room, the teenage girl darted to the kitchen as fast as possible, switching on the light. She dove for the counter as she heard thundering footsteps behind her, and she jerked open each drawer she found, but they were all the wrong ones. Each thud grew closer to where she was, which only made her grow more desperate in finding a more suitable weapon.

"_TIME TO FLOAT!"_

Jackpot!

Emily finally found the largest kitchen knife they owned in the house and she pulled it out of the drawer, slamming it shut. She took a deep breath as the footsteps became louder than ever.

"BACK OFF!" she roared and turned around, but she faltered in her movements, very confused but a little relieved.

It was gone.

Breathing heavily as her heart raced dangerously fast, Emily stayed still for a few seconds, afraid to move. It wasn't until she assured herself that the clown was truly gone that she snapped herself out of her frightened state, placing the sharp kitchen knife on the counter beside her. And as she did, she finally began to calm down. She was so terrorized and puzzled over what had just occurred that she couldn't think at all.

And she needed to get over that. So the teenage girl sank to the floor, hugging her knees to her chest as she began to think about what she had just gone through.

* * *

_The Next Afternoon_

Emily was pedaling through town, the five boys alongside her as she felt the wind blowing against her face. She felt a bit of anxiety in her gut as she turned onto Scottsville Road, and she wasn't able to make it go away; not even the presence of the boys (mostly Stan) was able to help her in this situation. She hadn't spoken a single word to them since they had met up at the square to go to the apartment complex where Beverly lived.

Beverly had called Emily almost fifteen minutes after the girl's strange encounter with that clown the night before. She herself was just a little shaken up but, when she had answered the phone, her best friend sounded even more terrified than she had been, and that scared her to death. Bev had basically told her that she and the others needed to be at her apartment at around two o'clock when her dad was gone.

Emily honestly couldn't blame Beverly about waiting for her dad, Alvin Marsh, to go to work. That guy was a creep.

So she herself was glad that it would only be the seven of them with no adults to tell them what to do, and she felt herself sighing with relief when she finally saw the apartment complex come into view. Because of this, she went faster on her bike, determined to get to the redhead before the others could; she wasn't racing them, she just wanted to see her friend. The conversation that the boys were having was in the back of her mind and she completely ignored them as she literally stood on the pedals of her bicycle to make it go faster.

She flew down Orange Grove Avenue, her hair getting tangled slightly behind her, but that was okay. It was in a ponytail anyway.

"Em, slow down!" shouted Richie from behind her. "You're going faster than Bill, let us catch up!"

Emily ignored the boy as she crossed the road and entered the back alley behind the apartment complex. As she slowed down, she noticed that the building didn't look nice in the slightest, it looked a little run down to her. But she knew that Beverly was poor and her dad barely had money for them to get by, so she didn't judge at all. All the while, when she saw Beverly running down the long flight of stairs, she could hear the boys begin to argue.

"We should've gone the other way," Eddie suddenly spoke up, and Emily rolled her eyes.

"No," said Stan, "we gotta go through the alleyway!"

"The alley takes way too long!"

"No, the alley is so much faster!"

"The alley is more dangerous and it's disgusting!" retorted Eddie.

Emily face-palmed as she heard their voices drift closer to her ears. She honestly wanted to throw herself over the Kissing Bridge, but she was nowhere near there at the moment.

"How is it more dangerous?" Stan asked, sounding very confused.

"It smells like crap and it's gross," Eddie answered in an irritated voice.

"Oh, my God!" exclaimed the curly-haired boy. "The side streets are the same! They smell like that stuff!"

"Okay, okay," Eddie sighed in defeat, and Emily saw Beverly reach the last small flight of stairs, which made her perk up. She got off of her bike and let it fall to the ground very ungracefully. "Can you just tell me what she said exactly?" she heard Eddie add.

"She didn't say anything," replied Stan. "She just said that you guys need to hurry over."

"She didn't say anything," repeated Eddie. "Okay. Okay."

Emily turned around to look at all of them. "Guys, be quiet," she warned them just as Beverly stopped in front of her. She seemed to be out of breath and she had to catch some oxygen for a moment, and they all allowed her to do so. Emily put a hand on the redhead's shoulder to provide her some solace, which she greatly appreciated. After a second, Bev finally spoke.

"You made it. I…" She stopped, trying to calm down as she looked between all of them. "I need to show you something," she said promptly.

"What is it?" asked Ben carefully.

"_More_ than what we saw at the quarry?" Richie added playfully.

And that was when Emily reached her boiling point. Clenching her hands into fists, she snapped her head around to face the bespectacled boy. "I swear to God, if you don't _shut the heck up_, Richie…" she yelled louder than she ever had before at any of the boys. But she regretted it instantly when everyone stared at her in shock; they had obviously never heard her speak so harshly in their years of friendship. She winced a little when she saw Stan visibly flinch at her angry tone, and she sent him an apologetic glance. This made him relax.

"Sorry," she muttered to the boys. After she said this, Eddie seemed to recover quicker than the others.

"Yeah, Richie," he added to her statement. "Just shut up!"

All of the boys got over Emily's little outburst, since they turned to Beverly again as she continued. "My dad will kill me if he finds out I had boys in the apartment," she explained rather nervously and Emily tilted her head in thought. So _that_ was why she had suggested that they meet up at the back of the building. She felt sympathy for her friend right away, and she looked at the boys, silently asking for their help.

"Wuh-Wuh-We'll leave a lookout," Bill assured her. "Richie, st-st-stay here." The rest of the group then dropped their bikes (minus Stan, who put his kickstand down) and followed Beverly towards the stairwell, Emily ahead of all of them. She already had her right foot on the first step when she heard Richie call out to them, and she rolled her eyes again.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! What if her dad comes back?!" Richie asked out loud, finding the whole situation unfair.

"Do what you _always_ do! Start talking!" Stan snapped at him before following the other up the stairs. Emily fought the urge to laugh at his snarky tone.

"It is a gift!" Richie yelled after them, agreeing with Stan's statement, and Emily smiled a little.

After walking up what seemed to be an infinite amount of stairs, the six Losers finally entered Beverly's apartment. Right away, Emily did not feel comfortable in the small home, because it didn't feel friendly or inviting to her in the slightest, and that was not okay with her. Thank God she had her Walkman with her, or she would be going insane without it. The fact that she and the others were all silent did not sit right with her, and she hated that. And as they turned the corner to face what seemed to be the bathroom door, she felt even more unsettled.

Beverly pointed at the bathroom door and Emily noticed that the redhead was too afraid to take another step towards it.

"In there…" she quietly told them.

Emily was standing between Stan and Eddie, but she was able to see the door very clearly once she looked between Beverly and Bill. It looked as if a red light was beaming from the other side, which was strange, but scary to the young girl. She always knew that the color red always meant danger (as well as other things), even if it was her favorite color. She knew that something bad had happened on the other side of that door, and the brown-haired girl took a quivering breath.

"What is it?" asked Stan.

"You'll see," Beverly replied in a somber tone.

As they began walking towards the door, Eddie's breathing quickening as they did so, Stan noticed that Emily looked very nervous. Even though he himself was worried, he took her hand and squeezed it to provide her the best amount of comfort he possibly could. It seemed as if she appreciated it, but she chose to ignore the small blush, her eyes frozen on the door as she put one foot in front of the other.

"Are you bringing us to your bathroom?" Eddie inquired, and he began to panic. "I just want you to know that eighty-nine percent of the worst accidents at home are caused in bathrooms. And… I mean… that's where all the bacteria and fungi are and i-it's not a really sanitary place." As he said this, he was slowly reaching for his inhaler.

Emily saw this out of the corner of her eye, so she put her free hand on Eddie's arm to calm him down. "It's okay, we're here," she consoled him, and he relaxed just a little.

But all sense of ease shriveled up and died once Bill opened the bathroom door, letting it swing out of their way for them to see what was inside.

She saw blood, which glowed brightly while covering every inch and edge of the bathroom's floor and walls. It was absolutely everywhere. The bathtub, the toilet, the sink, the mirror and even the window and curtains - Emily didn't see a single spot in the room that _wasn't_ soaked in blood. Even the ceiling was covered in the awful substance. The room smelt of strong copper, and it infatuated Emily's nose, making her gag in disgust. It took everything inside of her not to race over to the blood coated toilet and let out any bile that desperately needed to be released.

"I knew it!" whined Eddie as he took a step back. He gagged as well, and she patted his back as a form of comfort.

"Do you see it?" asked Beverly, and Emily could hear the fear and hope in her voice, and she nodded instantly. At the same time, Eddie whispered, "Yes," in response.

"What happened in here?" Stan inquired, his voice shaking majorly. Emily squeezed his hand, subconsciously intertwining their fingers as she looked into the bathroom again; she sighed, wishing she didn't have to see all that repulsing blood in front of her.

"My dad couldn't see it, I thought I might be crazy," Beverly replied, hugging her arms to her chest.

Ben scoffed lightly in response. "Well, if you're crazy, then we're _all_ crazy," he said quietly. Emily just stared at the repugnant sight, not able to take her eyes off of it, even if it grossed her out majorly.

"We c-c-can't leave it like this," Bill mumbled, bravely taking the first step as he walked into the bloody bathroom with a thoughtful expression etched into his face. Emily sighed, releasing her hand from Stan's as she followed the boy.

She didn't know how long it took them to clean the bathroom after they had grabbed every single supply they could use to wash the blood away. They had found them in the sink's cabinet and they were now scrubbing and washing the room from top to bottom. Emily was in charge of the bathtub, whilst Stan was at the window, Ben and Bill were taking care of the walls, Eddie was covering the floor, and Beverly was handling the mirror and sink. Emile found herself cleaning the most, since they all kept dumping blood into the bathtub every five minutes.

She didn't complain, especially since she had her headphones on and _Master of Puppets_, her favorite Metallica song was blaring in her ears, blocking out all other sound.

_End of passion play_

_Crumbling away_

_I'm your source of self-destruction_

_Veins that pump with fear_

_Sucking darkest clear_

_Leading on your death's construction_

Emily, as she used a rag to wash the last drops of blood from the bottom of the bathtub, heard Eddie cry a little as he squeezed the blood from his own cleaning rag into the bucket. She winced a little, feeling sorry for him, but she felt that the inhaler he had in his mouth would be able to help him a little with this. And she also thought that even though the whole situation was messed up, it was an experience that they could bond over and even strengthen Beverly's position in the club.

_Taste me, you will see_

_More is all you need_

_Dedicated to_

_How I'm killing you_

As she scrubbed the rim of the tub, Emily looked up and saw Stan cleaning the window in a very methodical manner. It made her smile as she wrang out her rag in the bucket, and she found herself trying not to think about what had happened the night before. It made her go back to viciously scrubbing the tub, flashes of the clown's eyes, the drool, and that very inhuman smile filling her mind. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to rid the memory from her brain.

_Come crawling faster (faster)_

_Obey your master (master)_

_Your life burns faster (faster)_

_Obey your -_

She suddenly felt a tap on her shoulder and she jumped a little, jerking her headphones off of her head. She turned her head to see Bill looking down at her with a worried look.

"You o-o-okay, Em?" he asked her, bringing her further back into reality.

Emily's head bobbed up and down quicker than she had intended. "Yeah, I'm fine," she whispered in a rush.

Stan sensed that something was wrong, since he crouched down, tearing off one of his gloves. He rested a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder, his eyebrows scrunched together in concern. "Are you sure you're okay?" he said, his gentle voice the only thing keeping Emily sane at the moment. She nodded a little slower, giving him a reassuring smile.

"I'm okay," she told him. "Just thinking, that's all."

He nodded, although he didn't look like he believed her, and he went back to what he was doing. Emily put her headphones back on, allowing the Metallica song to put her at ease again.

_Needlework the way_

_Never you betray_

_Life of death becoming clearer_

_Pain monopoly_

_Ritual misery_

_Chop your breakfast on a mirror_

* * *

After about two and a half hours of scrubbing, mopping, and washing, the six teenagers were finally done. Emily had helped Eddie, Ben, and Stan take out the trash bags full of bloodied paper towels and ruined wash rags while they left Bill and Beverly in the bathroom to make sure it was one-hundred percent clean. The teenage girl tossed her bag into the dumpster when they got outside and she sighed with relief, very happy that she didn't have to look at a disgusting bathroom anymore, since it looked as good as new now.

Eddie had practically begged her to let him put hand sanitizer on her hands, and she gave in after a few seconds. After that, they all waited for Bill and Beverly to exit the apartment and, a little while later, they did. The latter seemed to be in a much better mood as her eyes looked fondly to each Loser; and that was when Emily knew that the redhead was one of them now.

And they were now pulling their bikes down Elm Street - except for Richie - and they were trying to forget about what they just had to do for nearly three hours. The bespectacled boy was lucky that he didn't have to accompany them in doing the difficult and gross task, and it seemed as if the whole situation didn't bother him one bit. In fact, he seemed to be his joking and cheerful self, although the sarcastic nature remained.

And they had to endure Richie's trash mouth because of this.

"No, I _love_ being your personal doorman, really!" he snarkily stated as the rest of the group pretended to not hear him. "Could you idiots have taken any longer?!"

"Shut up, Richie!" both Emily and Eddie shouted at him irritatedly, and Stan decided to follow suit.

"Yeah, shut up, Richie!" he added, starting to get annoyed as well.

"Oh, okay, trash the trashmouth, I get it!" retorted Richie sourly. "Hey, _I _wasn't the one scrubbing the bathroom floor imagining that her sink went all Eddie's mom's vagina on Halloween!" This statement made Emily roll her eyes into the back of her head in vexation, but she said nothing.

"She didn't imagine it."

Emily froze in her tracks, spinning her head around to face Bill, her eyebrows raised in surprise at what he just said. She hadn't even noticed that the others had stopped as well, staring at Bill in shock. She waited for him to continue to speak as Richie pressed the brakes of his bike, staring at their leader as well.

"I s-s-saw something, too," Bill added to his sentence. The thing that unsettled Emily the most was the fact that the boy seemed a little hesitant to say this.

"You saw blood, too?" Stan inquired as everyone listened attentively. It was like a collective understanding had crossed over the teens, except for Richie. He was only looking between them all with a confused expression.

Bill paused for a moment before finally looking at Stan, and he shook his head. "Not blood," he murmured quietly. He lowered his gaze, hiding it from the others, but he finally mustered up his bravery to speak again. "I saw… G-G-Georgie…" he eventually said.

Emily's eyes were wider than ever before when she heard him say these three words, and she felt a lot of pain in her heart at the mention of the young boy. If she hadn't been holding herself back, she probably would have hugged her best friend until the day she died. "Georgie?" she repeated quietly, her heart beginning to pound in her chest in fear. Bill nodded at her.

"It seemed so real," he continued anxiously. "I mean… it _seemed_ like him but there was this…" He then trailed off, trying to find the right word to describe the situation. Emily was about to finish his sentence for him, but someone beat her to it.

"Clown," Eddie concluded, his voice meek and frightened. Emily turned to him and gave him a look of surprise, as well as everyone else. The small boy briefly locked eyes with her before avoiding everyone's gazes and staring at the ground. "Yeah, I saw him, too."

Emily shuddered a little violently and they all noticed, and Stan walked over to her to make sure she was okay. She relaxed at the feeling of him rubbing his hand in circles on her back, and she gave him a grateful smile. "I saw him, too," she finally said. "In my closet… last night…" She then felt Stan put his arm around her, and she let him, much to his relief.

Bill looked around and when he saw all of them, excluding Richie, nodding at him with serious and scared expressions, it was all he needed to confirm that they had encountered the clown as well.

_So I'm not crazy, _Emily thought to herself. _Good._

"Wait, can only _virgins_ see this stuff?" Richie commented in a skeptical tone. "Is _that_ why I'm not seeing this?"

Emily rolled her eyes as she looked away, the feeling of Stan's arm around her shoulders comforting her a great deal. She even leaned into his embrace, but she barely noticed that she did this. In the long moment of silence that passed, she felt a sensation of ease slowly come back to her as she looked at the others again, and it seemed as if it were the same way for them as well. And that was something that put her in peace.

"Oh no, that's Belch Huggins' car," Eddie suddenly alerted everyone else.

Emily flinched and she turned around quicker than she ever had in her life. Stan took his arm off of her shoulders as he even followed her gaze; and there it was. The infamous blue car that the Bowers Gang was always in when they were looking for fresh meat to terrorize again. She felt her blood freeze in place and she was now worried for the safety of her friends.

"W-We should probably get outta here," added Eddie, and Emily nodded instantly, gripping her handlebars tighter. She was ready to jump onto her bike and speed away, not wanting to deal with Bowers and his minions after hours of cleaning up a bloody bathroom, but Bill's voice made her falter in her movements.

"Wait, isn't that the homeschooled kid's bike?" he asked, pointing in the same direction of the car.

Emily turned her head back around to look closer and finally saw what Bill was referring to. There was a bike that had been dropped onto the dirty ground; it had a familiar basket on the front of it, and that one feature alone made Emily's heartbeat quicken in fear as she recognized the bicycle to be none other than Mike Hanlon's. She had run into him a few times during the few days since school was let out for the summer. Every time they ran into one another, they would either exchange waves or even a few words of conversation. He was a very nice kid that she was always friendly to, so of course she was instantly fearing for his sake.

And when Eddie confirmed that the bicycle belonged to Mike, she was even more scared after she heard angry yells coming from a distance.

"We have to help him," Beverly said, taking the words right out of her mouth.

"We should?" said Richie, glancing at the redhead with an exasperated look. Emily went up to him and smacked the back of his head.

"Yes!" exclaimed Beverly, and she dropped her bike onto the ground, sprinting for the destination all of them had in mind. Emily followed immediately, her own bike clattering against the ground behind her as she ran faster than ever before. She entered the forest, her heart instantly dropping when she heard the angry shouts get closer.

She felt Stan quickly run to be by her side, and the two briefly exchanged a glance before they arrived at the place they needed to be.

Emily's blood boiled at the sight of Bowers and his gang quite literally _torturing_ Mike. Sure, the girl had seen them bully people before by pushing or shoving and it was never _too _bad, but this was horrible to watch. They were beating and kicking the crap out of him and it looked horrific; she wanted so badly to run across the small stream in front of her and save him, but when she saw Bowers kick the Hanlon kid in the face, she wasn't able to move, too shocked to do so.

She nearly screamed out loud when Henry grabbed a large rock to hit Mike over the head with it, but something stopped that.

Bowers was suddenly hit with an even larger stone and he toppled to the pebbled ground. Emily squinted her eyes behind her glasses in confusion as she looked around, seeing seconds later that Beverly's left arm was swinging from where she had thrown the rock. Her eyes widened a little and a smirk grew on her face as the Bowers Gang looked at the Losers in shock.

"Nice throw!" Stan complimented Beverly as the rest of the group arrived, and Emily looked at Mike again. She cringed at how bad he looked.

"Thanks," Beverly said, giving him a small smile.

The brown-haired girl bent down to pick up more rocks but when she saw Mike stumbling across the river, she dropped them in seconds, reaching an arm out for him to grab. He took her hand and she pulled him behind the group, assuring him that he was okay and that they would protect him.

"You losers are trying too hard," Bowers said, making Emily glare at him as she gathered up the rocks she had dropped. She smirked a little when she noticed that he was bleeding from the forehead (where Beverly had made her target). "She'll do you," he added, referring to the redhead, and Emily's free hand turned into a fist. "You just gotta ask nicely, like _I _did." He then grabbed his crotch in a sexual manner, and Emily grit her teeth in disgust, her brown eyes now burning with an angry fire that the gang had never seen before.

But she jumped nearly a mile into the air when she heard Ben roar in rage, and she turned to look at him, a little scared of him if she were being honest. The chubby boy then hurled his right hand forward, the rock flying out of it and colliding with Henry's forehead.

"What the -?!" exclaimed Bowers as he backed into Victor.

And that was when Emily was ready, since she knew what was coming next. She took the two rocks she held in her hands, throwing one after the other. One of them missed, but the other hit Belch in the leg, satisfying her.

Finally realizing that the Losers weren't intimidated in the slightest, Henry began picking up rocks as well. "Come on, get 'em!" he angrily barked at Victor and Belch, who obeyed quickly.

Emily picked up as many rocks as she could, throwing one or two at a time, not caring that the gang was also beginning to throw stones. She was beyond done with their shenanigans, and she was going to freaking show them. Nobody messed with Beverly and the boys in front of her and that was a lesson she was going to teach these boys today.

"ROCK WAR!" Richie hollered before he got hit straight in the face by a rock that Henry threw at him.

"RICHIE!" Emily screamed, reaching the breaking point of her anger. At that moment, she was blinded by a five-course of serving rage that tasted bitter, yet surprisingly delicious. She started throwing rocks with more force, chuckling when each one hit them, specifically Henry. She didn't feel guilty and she didn't stop. So many months of the horrendous bullying she had endured from these monster had finally pushed her over the edge and she was giving this rock fight everything she had.

A rock that was being thrown at her brought her back to reality and she dodged it as quickly as she could.

"Get 'em!"

"Watch out!"

"You little twat!" Bowers snarled at Emily when one of her rocks hit him in the stomach.

The teenage girl had no idea who was winning or losing. She just focused on throwing as many rocks as she could, adrenaline pumping through her veins as she did so. Her brown hair was sticking to the back of her neck as sweat began to form all over her skin, but she didn't care.

Eddie suddenly jumped into the stream, grabbing more rocks and throwing them at their enemies, and Emily was impressed, although she warned him to be careful.

"Take this!" she shouted, throwing yet another rock at Henry, which hit him right in the crotch, and she whooped a little in her small victory.

Henry sent a terrifying glare in her direction, and he grabbed the largest rock he could find and he hurled it at her. She didn't have time to dodge it and it hit her square in the chest, knocking her onto the ground as she tried to catch her breath.

"EMILY!" Stan screamed, pure rage filling his light brown eyes as he threw his rocks more forcefully than everyone else. "YOU BASTARD!"

It seemed as if the others had noticed Emily take a big rock to her chest, since Bill was also beyond ticked off. He, Stan, and Richie joined Eddie in the stream to defend the girl that kept them all together, throwing rock after rock until it seemed like the Bowers Gang had finally accepted defeat, Belch and Victor running off into the distance in fear. And that was when they finally stopped.

After this, Stan ran over to Emily, helping her up. "Are you okay?" he asked frantically. "Are you hurt? I'll kill him!"

Emily put a hand on his shoulder. "No, Stan, no!" she shouted. "He could still hurt you! I'm okay… just a little caught off guard." Her chest still hurt but not as much as it had when the rock made contact with it.

And Stan, much to her surprise, pulled her into a hug. Although she was shocked that he did this, she put her arms around him, returning the embrace without hesitation. She patted him on the back to assure him that she would be just fine and he relaxed in her arms.

After they pulled away, Stan took her hand, his eyes asking her for permission to do this. She nodded, and he began to pull her away from the river, Emily motioning for the others to follow. They did, all of them looking beyond exhausted. But she noticed Richie stop, turning to glare at Bowers, who was lying in a heap on the ground, still in shock over what had just happened.

"GO BLOW YOUR DAD, YOU MULLET-WEARING JERK!" Richie bellowed, and he held his hands up, forcefully shoving his middle fingers into the air. Emily burst into laughter but urged him to hurry up and follow them.

As the eight of them walked down a hill, a train passing by behind them, Stan once again put his arm around Emily's shoulders, and she accepted the ounce of comfort he provided for her. It was obvious that he was still angry and upset over her getting hit in the chest but she kept sending him consoling looks, making him relax more with each one. She then started to distract herself by feeling the tall grass when Mike suddenly began speaking.

"Thanks, guys, but you shouldn't have done that," he said. "They'll be after you guys, too."

Eddie, who was surprisingly leading the group and who was in front of Bill, turned to look at Mike with a nonchalant smile. "Oh, no, no, no - Bowers? He's always after us," he replied casually, looking back ahead to make sure he wouldn't trip over a rock.

"I guess that's one th-th-thing we all have in common," Bill added, glancing towards Mike with a friendly smile.

"Yeah, homeschool! Welcome to the Losers' Club!" Richie proclaimed with an accepting tone, and Emily smiled.

The Losers' Club was now complete, but their troubles were just beginning.

* * *

Emily was walking home, pulling her bike alongside her as she trekked along the sidewalk of Witcham Street. She was by herself, having left the group to go home before any of the others had done so, and because she felt that it was getting late in the evening, despite the fact that it was only _5:00 P.M._ She at least wanted to see her mother, since Charlotte had gotten off early today.

After the rock fight, Ben had taken them all to the clubhouse that he had mentioned the previous day. He had been working on it beforehand - reinforcing the wall panels, getting wood for the roof door and even using a ladder for the stairs. Emily thought it looked awesome, and she promised that she would try to visit it whenever she was able to.

And now, all she was doing was walking home, too exhausted from the day to even ride her bicycle. Luckily for her, she never got hit with any other rock besides the rock that had slugged her chest, so she didn't have to explain to her mother what had happened, much to her relief. But the blow had knocked the wind out of her and it had taken a while for Stan's anger to finally fade away.

For some reason, Emily felt like she was being followed, and this made her turn around multiple times to make sure that nobody was. And, to her relaxation, she seemed to actually be alone, since she saw nobody behind her at all. She sighed to herself, her hands squeezing the handlebars to calm herself down, and it worked after a little while. A loose strand of her hair was in front of her face and she shook it away out of slight irritation.

The girl then looked up when she was nearing her house and she saw a sight that was confusing at first, but she began to fight back a laugh.

Charlotte was on the front porch, trying to fix the light that was bolted against the wall beside the door. And it seemed that she was having a bit of a war with it, since she couldn't do it right. "I hate you!" she growled at it as if it were a human being.

Emily finally laughed, putting her bike in the garage before jogging around the house and to the front porch. "Mom, what in the world are you doing?" she giggled, and Charlotte turned to her with an annoyed expression. This only made her laugh even more, since she found the whole situation very amusing.

"Could you please help me put this lightbulb in? I'm having a little trouble!" her mother pleaded, and the young girl nodded, walking up the stairs.

"Okay, okay, okay!" she replied. "Jesus… what even happened to the porch light?" As she asked this, she tentatively took the lightbulb from Charlotte and began putting it where it was supposed to go, puzzlement being her only emotion while she did this.

"I guess the other one blew out last night and I just now realized when I tried to flip the light switch. I tried to get this one in correctly but it kept looking jagged and crooked and I'm so annoyed!" Charlotte explained.

Emily turned to her mother, her eyebrows raised at her tone. "Calm down, Mom," she told her before finishing her work. "I think I got it. Try it." Charlotte went to flip the light switch and, sure enough, it turned on. "Ta-da!" Emily bowed to her mother, feeling proud of herself.

"Oh, don't look so smug," her mother said, booping her nose. "How was your day? What did you and your friends do?"

And Emily began to explain how her day went to Charlotte, leaving out some details. And as they entered the house, the young girl failed to notice a figure standing behind a tree from across the street, its yellow eyes staring right at Emily.

* * *

Nothing major happened over the next two and a half weeks.

* * *

**A/N: Well, that's it! The rock fight has happened! :D I feel like I did much better with it this time than in Dealing With Being a Loser. Did you guys think so?**

**What did you guys think of this chapter? Was it enjoyable and accurate to the movie?**

**And also, Emily just encountered that freaking clown. UH-OH! Was it scary? Let me know!**

**Ah... don't we love protective Stan? I DO! :D**

**Also... I know this sounds stupid but... would you please keep my family in your prayers? It sounds ridiculous that I'm asking this, but a family member of mine has been sick for over a year. Please pray for them.**

**Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Be looking forward to the next one! Have a great day and until next time!**

**\- Hermione Romanoff**


	10. Parades and Slideshows

**DISCLAIMER: IT IS OWNED BY NEW LINE CINEMA AND WARNER BROS. STUDIOS! I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING EXCEPT FOR MY OC'S!**

**A/N: We are here with another chapter and this has one of my favorites scenes of the movie in it. HEHEHEHEHEH! *rubs hands together excitedly***

**Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter as much as the others!**

_**MusicLover14rd: Glad to see you made a profile! I followed you, by the way! Everything you said was freaking hilarious lmfao! Glad you enjoyed the last chapter and I hope you love this one as well! Oh and the bathtub thing wasn't my intention haha**_

_**Meguhanu: Thank you so much, I'm glad you loved the last chapter! Hope you enjoy this one! :)**_

_**robinmuffins: I'm glad you enjoyed it! I wasn't really intending on it having Halloween/Nightmare on Elm Street vibes lol. Thanks for your kind words about my family and I hope you like this chapter!**_

_** .2020: Thank you!**_

_**Special thanks to MusicLover14rd, amphitriteagape, Meguhanu, robinmuffins, malayalikesbread, SusanBenson2812, and .2020 for either leaving a review or favoriting/following the last chapter!**_

**Now, without further ado, here is the tenth chapter!**

* * *

_Nights in white satin_

_Never reaching the end_

_Letter I've written_

_Never meaning to send_

* * *

**_Chapter Ten: Parades and Slideshows_**

_July 4th, 1989_

_10:15 A.M._

Emily was asleep in her bed, tangled in her blankets of the very comfortable and soft mattress she laid on. Her long, brown hair was in all directions as it was sprawled across the pillow; her eyes were peacefully shut as she kept on dozing. But, of course, that wouldn't be lasting very long. She dreamt beautiful dreams, which was something she hadn't done in a while, and it was a good thing for her considering what she had been going through during the summer. It was the first time she had good dreams in a while, and that was a relief.

But, a few minutes later, Emily began to stretch her body, signaling that she was finally waking up. The Tuesday morning that she opened her eyes to seemed like a promising one as the blissful sunshine flooded through the girl's bedroom with delicate, ethereal light that dazzled her eyes the second that she opened them. It was an uplifting sight compared to what had happened two and half weeks before. And it was also what finally made her get out of bed after a few minutes.

The young girl had kept her promise to Ben and had made sure she and the others visited the clubhouse often or just whenever they were bored. When Charlotte had found out about this, she helped Emily get some supplies to put in the clubhouse such as a hammock, some cool posters and a lot of other things. When the teenager brought all of those down to the clubhouse, the Losers were very surprised but thanked her nonetheless. Stan was the most impressed of all of them, secretly appreciating her taste in music when she had brought albums from a variety of artists and bands.

All of these included _Soft Cell_, _Kenny Loggins_, _Alphaville_, _Rick Astley_ and so on. But Emily had brought some other albums that would satisfy all of the other Losers as well as herself, with bands and artists such as _Joy Division_, _Bananarama_, _Guns N' Roses_, _David Bowie_, _New Kids On The Block_, _Michael Jackson_, and _Blue Oyster Cult_. The eight of them always had a fun time listening to music, even if Richie and Eddie often fought over who's turn it was to be in the hammock. But, let's be honest, the others were used to their bickering at this point.

Emily went over to her closet and looked for any clothes that would be fitting for the holiday. She was supposed to be going to downtown Derry for the annual parade that the townsfolk often held around this time of year; according to Eddie, the four boys would always hang out at the square while the band marched on, playing obnoxiously loud music as they did so. And, apparently, there would normally be lots of fireworks but, because of the _7:00 P.M. _curfew that was going around the town, that would sadly not be happening this year.

And that was certainly a bummer for Emily, because she had attended the parade the year before and the fireworks had been beautiful that night.

But there _was_ a good thing that would still come out of this: getting to hang out with her friends for a few hours.

That was what Emily was looking forward to the most, and she was thinking about this as she dug through her clothes that were hanging from the sides of the closet on their hangers. She softly groaned in irritation, wishing that it would be easier to find something to wear; it was worse considering that this happened to her all the time, and it annoyed her to no end. One, she wanted to look nice for the parade like she did last year, and even her friends had to admit that she looked really pretty the year before. Two, she also wanted to look as casual as possible while also trying to be pretty, and she had the feeling that she would be successful at this.

After a few minutes, she finally found the perfect outfit and she smiled when she did. She quickly left the closet, leaving it open a crack like she always did, and changed out of her pajamas and into what she was planning to wear for the day. Several seconds later, she was finally done putting it on, so she looked at herself in the mirror, instantly satisfied with what she was wearing.

She was wearing a red dress with hints of blue in it, very perfect for the fourth of July, and it just barely reached her shins. It was spaghetti-strapped, which was good for her since she didn't need to sweat in the blistering hot weather that would only grow warmer as the days went onward. But the dress was also enough for her to hide the fact that she was wearing jean shorts underneath it, which was a relief to her. There were also white flowers printed onto the dress, making it even more beautiful than it already was.

Who knows? Emily thought that she actually looked slightly stunning in the dress, so it was the right choice for her. It made her giggle slightly as she went to get her white flip-flops that she thought would look good with it. And, sure enough, they did. So she slipped them on and looked at the clock that was sitting on her nightstand, which read _10:30_.

She figured that she should go ahead and make her way to the square, so she got her purse and slung it over her shoulder. She checked to make sure that she didn't forget anything - specifically, her pocket knife - and she was relieved when she saw that she wasn't leaving anything behind. Emily took a deep breath to compose herself, assuring herself that absolutely nothing would go wrong today.

Boy, oh boy, was she so wrong.

After she was completely ready, she left her bedroom and went to the kitchen for a snack. Charlotte was already at work, and the young girl understood; she left a note for her mother regardless just in case she didn't get home before the older woman did. Emily then grabbed her house key and walked out of the house, locking the front door behind her. She went to her garage and got 'T-800,' beginning to ride it to the square.

Little did she know that in the next few hours, everything would go badly for her.

* * *

_One Hour Later_

There were lots and lots of citizens running around town by the time Emily had gotten to the square; she was a little overwhelmed at the amount of people that she saw but, then again, this wasn't anything new, as this was the case the year prior as well. She was used to it now, despite the fact that she felt slightly claustrophobic around the seemingly hundreds of kids and adults swarming the streets and sidewalks last year. Her friends had helped her with her paranoia, and she felt a lot more comfortable afterwards.

Surprisingly, Emily had arrived at the square before the others did so, while she waited for them, she listened to music on her Walkman and a variety of songs played through her headphones. She enjoyed all of them, even the mediocre ones, but her absolute favorite song of these had to be the last one, _Nights in White Satin_ by The Moody Blues. The lyrics spoke to her in a beautiful manner, and she could listen to it all day long if she wanted to.

_Beauty I'd always missed_

_With these eyes before_

_Just what the truth is_

_I can't say any more_

As the chorus played, Emily found herself thinking about the festivities taking place around her as she sat on a bench and just watched the people in front of her. She couldn't help but ponder on what they were feeling as the band marched on and on; were they genuinely excited about the holiday taking place at the very moment, or were they just hiding their true emotions like she herself was? Were the kids as happy as she hoped they were? Did they even want to be here?

Were they even aware of what was really going on?

_Gazing at people, some hand in hand_

_Just what I'm going through they can't understand_

_Some try to tell me, thoughts they cannot defend_

_Just what you want to be, you will be in the end_

A small, but sad, smile formed on Emily's face as she thought about it, asking more questions in her mind. Did these people know what secretly lurked in the shadows? Could this happy day end with the tragic death of another child? Or would it end normally like any other day? Would these kids and their parents be able to go home and be safe behind their locked doors and closed windows? Or would any of the kids be horribly murdered in a gruesome fashion?

The thing that scared the teenage girl the most was that she truly didn't know the answer to any of these questions.

Oh, but wasn't that how life actually went? It sure did for Emily, and she didn't like that. The scariest part about life itself was considered a curse in her mind: it was all unpredictable. She wasn't in a movie, she was faced with real life, and she would never be able to guess what was to come the next day, next week, or even next year. The fact that she wasn't able to predict what would happen next was terrifying; someone could drop dead right at this very moment and it would be unexpected. Nobody could expect when something shocking would happen or when something simple and normal would take place.

Emily despised it just as much as she hated growing.

And what a more perfect time to think about that just as _In My Life_ by The Beatles began to play on her Walkman.

_There are places I'll remember_

_All my life, though some have changed_

_Some forever, not for better_

_Some have gone, and some remain_

She sighed to herself, pushing those thoughts away as she turned off her Walkman, not even bearing to hear that song, even though it was one of her favorites. Good timing, too, since she saw a few of her friends arrive; because of this, she stuffed the object back in her purse, a much happier smile overtaking the sad one from earlier when she saw Richie, Eddie, Bill, and Stan spot her sitting on the bench. Eddie motioned for her to join them next to one of the buildings, and she easily pushed herself out of her seat and walked as briskly as she could over to the boys.

"Huh-Hey, Emily!" greeted Bill in a cheerful tone, which made her eyes brighten; it always made her feel better when she saw her best friend happy.

"Why, hello, Bill," she replied with a amusing voice, making him laugh. "Enjoying the festivities?"

He nodded. "You look r-r-really nice," he said politely, gesturing to her dress, and she playfully bowed in response, making all of the boys chuckle.

"Looks like Queen Emily is showing off with her unconventional beauty," quipped Richie, who was smirking proudly. The girl in question punched his arm after she heard him say this.

"Beep Beep, Richie," she responded, choosing to not greet him and instead gave Eddie a one-armed hug. "What's up, Eddie?" she asked casually, but she had a dumb grin on her face. The small boy rolled his eyes slightly at her behavior, gently removing her arm from around his shoulders after it had remained there after their hug.

What the brown-haired girl didn't know was that while Eddie liked her and was happy to be her best friend, his mother, Sonia Kaspbrak, resented both Emily and her mom, which angered him every time he thought about it. "_Don't you ever hang out with that girl, Eddie-bear!" _she would say to him. "_Her mother left her husband for no reason whatsoever. And that Emily girl has a bad mouth to her. She's not your friend!"_

He ignored his mother, since Emily was actually a nice person. And she _was_ his friend.

"Nothing much, really," replied Eddie, pushing the memory away. "Bill was right, though. You look really nice today."

Emily smiled at him, patting him on the back. "Thanks, Eddie." She then turned to the person that she hadn't greeted yet but, this time, she was slightly nervous as she did so. "Hey, Stan," she said in a tone that didn't imply just how timid she felt in front of him, but she fidgeted with her hands in a secretive way. She inhaled deeply to wash away the anxiety she was feeling in her heart.

Stan, who had been staring at her in shock for several seconds, snapped out of his trance as fast as he could, giving the girl a small smile. "Hi, Emily," he replied happily, his face ever so slightly red. Emily noticed this, but she didn't point it out as he continued. "You really do look pretty. No… no, not pretty… beautiful! You look beautiful," he complimented rather shyly.

A bashful smile touched Emily's lips as she blushed furiously, and Stan found the sight very adorable and cute. He just barely held himself back from saying so, even if the pinkness of her cheeks made her even more beautiful. After she thanked his compliment, he began to think about whether or not he should tell her how he felt about her, and he suddenly wished his other friends weren't around so he could. But he decided to wait until the right time, especially since he was always careful with this girl. He wanted to tell her at the perfect moment, and he knew that now was not the time.

He then thought about why he actually liked her, which was… well… _everything_, really. Emily Boleyn had the funniest and most upbeat personality than any other girl Stan had ever met in his life; she was very fun to be around, because she could make you laugh much easier than Richie could, and she was able to cheer you up in a heartbeat. She was cool and had a smooth style to her which, in turn, caused her to be a very laid-back girl. If you insulted her, she either ignored it or replied with the most casual comeback you would ever hear.

She was also a tough girl that not only stood up for herself, but for Stan and all of the others; she even defended people that she didn't know but that she knew didn't deserve the bad things to happen to them. She had a fighter side to her that showed up whenever something was about to go down, even if the other Losers didn't know where it had come from. Maybe it was a natural thing or maybe it wasn't. They didn't care.

But Emily, in Stan's eyes, was more beautiful than any other girl he had ever known, and just the sight of her made his heart skip a beat. There was a warmth her brown hair brought to her features, even if it was a normal color. The hue would alter every time she moved her head and, although it was straight, it was as free as autumn leaves blowing in the daytime. Her chocolate brown eyes were the most breathtaking quality of her physical being, however. In those earthy hues was her soul, and they contained a type of beauty that expanded a moment into a personal eternity, a _heaven_ of some sort.

And Stan wished he could be a part of that heaven.

After a while, Beverly, Ben, and Mike soon showed up to the parade. The latter was dressed in formal attire, which Emily complimented him for in a polite manner, while the other two were dressed more casually. Eddie, in the meantime went to go get ice cream for himself and for Richie, while the boy in question had gone to the middle of the street and had started messing with a band member's instrument. He was playing it rather horribly, much to Emily's amusement.

The girl sighed to herself as she stood beside Beverly, finding herself distracted in the humorous sight of Richie messing with the instrument.

"They said they found a part of his hand all chewed up near the standpipe," Stan said in a rather disturbd voice, his voice cracking as the words left him.

Emily flinched slightly at the sudden voice bringing her back to reality and she glanced at the boy for a moment. But he wasn't looking in her direction, and she followed his gaze to what she was really looking at. If she were being honest, what she was looking at made her blood run cold, and she suddenly wanted to turn away. But she didn't, her gaze being locked onto the piece of paper that was taped to the brick wall in the alleyway.

It was one of the many 'MISSING' posters that had been posted around Derry for the dozens of children that had vanished, including Georgie. This time, the picture was of a boy just slightly younger than Emily; a boy that she was actually acquaintances with, which made her even more upset. The poster read this:

POLICE DEPARTMENT

CITY OF DERRY

**MISSING**

EDWARD CORCORAN

13 YEARS OLD

LAST SEEN JULY 1

Description: Born March 29, 1976; Male; 13 yrs; Height: 65 inches; Weight: 110 lbs; Brown hair, green eyes; Wearing a blue polo shirt, khakis, red and white sneakers.

If you find this person, please contact the Derry Police Department.

Those words sent hundreds of chills down Emily's spine all at once and she finally dropped her stare from the paper. She turned away, not bearing to look at the others for a moment, and her friends couldn't blame her at all. All of this chaos of disappearing children was upsetting her more and more as each day went by, and the walls around her heart were ever so slowly beginning to crack with each poster she saw around town.

"He asked to borrow a pencil once," Ben added, only making the girl feel even worse.

Bill walked over to the piece of paper and lifted it up, only to reveal yet another 'MISSING' poster. Oh, just great. Emily's day was just getting worse by the second. But this one was for Betty Ripsom, yet another girl that had vanished into thin air. Emily's heart sank to the bottom of her stomach completely, especially considering the fact that the poor girl still hadn't been found yet. She had some hope in her to this day, but that was slowly starting to fade as time passed.

"It's like _she's_ been f-f-f-forgotten because Cor-Corcoran's missing," said Bill in a worried voice, snapping Emily's thoughts in half. She nodded in agreement nonetheless.

"Is it ever gonna end?" Stan asked, hope filling his tone, and Emily shrugged. She truly didn't know the answer to that question.

"What in the world, dude?!" shouted Richie as the band member finally took his instrument away from the bespectacled boy. Emily turned to the voice and managed to hold back a weak chuckle.

"What are you guys talking about?" inquired Eddie as he walked up to them, two ice cream cones in his hands. At the same time, Richie approached them and the small boy instantly handed him the ice cream that he had bought for him. No words were exchanged between the two; it was like a natural occurrence.

"What they _always_ talk about," complained Richie in response. Emily rolled her eyes and flipped him off behind the backs of everyone else.

"I actually think it _will_ end… for a little while, at least," Ben stated with a thoughtful expression.

"What do you mean?" Beverly replied, very intrigued now.

Simultaneously, Emily squinted her eyes in confusion, trying to figure out what Ben was talking about; despite her best efforts, she failed miserably. So, accepting defeat, she finally decided to listen to what he had to say. He was the smarter one and he _did_ do research about this, after all.

"So," Ben began to explain, "I was going over all of my data research and I charted out all of the big events. The Ironworks explosion in 1908, the Bradley Gang in '35, and The Black Spot in '62… and _now_ the kids being…" He didn't finish because he locked eyes with Bill and faltered a little at the silent mention of the boy's little brother, but the way he phrased his explanation was enough of a hint for the group to understand what he had meant. "I realized… that this stuff seems to happen -"

"Every twenty-seven years," Bill finished at the same time Ben did.

Emily's eyes widened at this realization, meeting Stan's eyes in her moment of shock. She didn't notice everyone else looking at each other with understandably spooked expressions.

After the conclusion had come into play, Emily was suddenly uncomfortable by being in an alleyway, so she casually suggested that they all go to Bassey Park and take a seat on a bench in front of the Paul Bunyan statue. A stage with many dancers and clowns giving free balloons to children stood behind them as various families were enjoying their picnics and gatherings. And, although the colors of red, white, and blue were beautiful, they didn't do much to calm Emily's subconscious and mind.

She was sitting on a bench, Stan and Beverly on either side of her as Ben and Mike sat on each end. Bill, Richie, and Eddie, meanwhile, were resting against their bikes.

Despite the fact that the two of them had only _really _known one another for just under a month, a strong and unbreakable bond grew between Emily and Beverly almost instantly after they met. As the weeks passed by, the girls had become much closer friends with each time they hung out together at the clubhouse or even during sleepovers they had every now and then. But this wasn't just because they had a lot in common, but it was for the reason that they were actually able to have conversations about topics that would either disgust the boys or make them uncomfortable.

Beverly had surprised Emily by getting her a friendship necklace just over a week after the rock fight, and she had gotten one for herself as well. It didn't matter that they hadn't been friends for very long.

Their bond was made and nothing could break it.

"Okay, so let me get this straight," Eddie said, sounding more confused than ever. "It comes out from wherever to eat kids for, like, a year, and then what? It just goes into hibernation?"

Emily shrugged once more, still staring into space despite the fact that she was listening.

"Maybe it's like… what do you call it… cicadas," Stan speculated. "You know, the bugs that come out every seventeen years?" Emily turned her head to the curly-haired boy, thinking that he could have been right, since she herself truly didn't know was It was like. She kept straining for a solution to her little problem but, alas, to no avail. It really frustrated her.

"My grandfather thinks this town is cursed," said Mike suddenly.

Emily's eyes widened a little as she looked at the colored boy; she was obviously very surprised that he chose this exact moment to mention this. Was it something that he had been hiding from them all this time, or something he had just discovered recently? She didn't know at all, and that irritated her more. But she stayed silent as Mike continued.

"He says that all the bad things that happen in this town are because of one thing… an _evil_ thing that feeds on the people of Derry," he added as an afterthought. Emily nodded along with what he was saying, choosing not to reply to his explanation.

"But it _can't_ be one thing," Stan replied in a skeptical tone. Emily sighed a little in annoyance; she liked Stan a lot, but even she had to admit that his disbelief of the whole situation irritated her greatly. She just wished that he was actually on board with what they were saying and not hiding behind the fact that he was truly scared deep down. But she couldn't do anything about it. Especially when the boy went on by saying, "We all saw something else."

Now _that_ was a statement that Emily could understand. She definitely saw something different than what Beverly had seen that night; she had only seen a clown while the redhead had to deal with a bloody situation. So, for that, she had to agree with Stan on this one.

"Maybe," Mike said in agreement. "Or maybe It knows what scares us most, and that's what we see."

"I-I-I saw a leper," Eddie admitted, his voice a hundred percent uneasy. "He was like a _walking infection_." Emily looked at the boy and she could see the traumatic experience in his honey brown eyes. It made her feel sympathy for her best friend and she wanted nothing more than to hug him right there; but she stayed where she was sitting.

And she took a deep breath before speaking up.

"I just saw the clown," she said quietly, but the others heard her. "I mean, they don't scare me, but I thought that thing was gonna kill me right there in my bedroom. But I wasn't afraid to stab It right there when I ran away."

There was an agonizing moment of silence that followed her small story before someone else spoke up, much to Emily's surprise.

"What _are_ you a-a-afraid of, Emily?" asked Bill, his voice full of curiosity as the question reached the girl's ears. She looked at him for a moment before looking back down, unable to meet anyone's eyes.

After a full minute of waiting, she finally pried her lips apart and spoke the two words she loathed to say: "Being alone."

Stan knew what she really meant by that and he put a hand on her bare shoulder as a comforting gesture. Emily visibly relaxed under his touch, resting her left hand on top of his in response. All it could take was just a movement from the boy, or even a word of solace and Emily would be calm in seconds. She never said this to his face, though, since it was embarrassing for her.

"I don't know why I saw a _clown_, though," she added out of confusion.

"But you _didn't_," said Stan, and Emily audibly let out a huff of vexation. "B-Because it isn't real. _None_ of this is. Not Eddie's leper, or-or Bill seeing Georgie, or Emily seeing the clown, or the woman _I-I_ keep seeing…" He froze, looking ashamed of what he had just admitted to everyone.

"Is she hot?" Richie wondered out of nowhere, a lop-sided grin on his face. Emily gave him an appalled look, muttering that he should shut up at the same time Stan's expression shifted from a cautious one to an angry one.

"No, Richie!" he retorted in fury. "She's _not_ hot!"

Emily could see Richie's smile drop instantly.

"Her face is all messed up…" Stan added, shuddering at the thought again. Emily shifted to face him more clearly, moving her left hand to his back to comfort him as he had done with her. "None of this makes _any_ sense! They're all like bad dreams." The girl sighed when her crush said this, about to correct him, but Mike did it for her, much to her relief.

"I don't think so," he replied in a slightly annoyed tone. "I know the difference between a bad dream and real life, okay?"

Emily could see the familiarity in his eyes and she perked up. "What did you see?" she pressed forward, everyone turning to look at her as she did. "You saw something, too?" She tried not to sound too demanding, and she didn't. She was just genuinely interested but also very worried about him at the same time. She couldn't imagine what his experience with that monster was like.

"Yes," he replied, before pausing for a long moment. He then swallowed his fear and convinced himself that it was fine; he could trust his new friends. "Do you guys know that burnt down house on Harris Avenue?" he asked. Everyone else nodded. "I was inside when it burned down. Before I was rescued… my mom and dad were trapped in the next room over from me. They were pushing and pounding on the door… trying to get to _me_…. But it was too hot. When the firefighters found them… the skin on their hands… were melted down to the bone…"

Emily shivered at the thought as she began to ponder the idea. She could feel the flames licking at her face as she screamed in agony, the unbelievable pain filling every inch of her body as her skin peeled and melted like wax on a candle. The feeling of getting weaker every passing millisecond as your hair burnt off along with the skin, your bones being exposed to the human eye. The fire could even reach her… her… her _heart_!

The girl shook her head, trying her best to rid the haunting picture from her mind as she looked at Mike again. "I'm very sorry, Mike," she said as calmly as she could, making good efforts to hide the tremble in her voice.

He smiled sadly at her. "Thanks," he said. He then sighed, closing his eyes for a moment to regain his emotional strength before making his final point. "We're all afraid of something."

"Got that right," Richie replied as he turned away, towards the stage.

"Why, Rich? What are you afraid of?" Eddie questioned curiously.

The boy with coke bottle glasses stared at the stage for a few seconds before turning back to them, straightening the glasses nervously. "Clowns," he answered sourly.

Emily sighed when she heard this reply. "I've got some bad news for you, kid," she told him.

* * *

_Forty Minutes Later_

When Bill told them that he wanted to show them something related to the topic they were discussing, everyone re-grouped back at his house - more like his garage.

Emily stopped by her house real quick to change into more comfortable clothing of a grey t-shirt and she left her jean shorts on. Afterwards, she jogged back to Bill's house, leaving her bike behind in the process; when she got there, everyone else had already shown up, Beverly, Mike, and Stan covering the windows in the boy's garage. She walked over to Bill and helped him set up the projector on the table right in the middle of the room. Ben then held out a small slide for Bill to take, and he did. He placed it into the projector as Mike closed the garage door.

Darkness filling the room, despite the light from the projector illuminating a poster of Derry on the wall in front of them, Emily sat down in between Eddie and Stan, looking at the object curiously. She squinted her eyes a little behind her glasses as Bill adjusted it to match the most recent map of the town. She then realized that it also showed the sewer system in the form of red lines.

"Okay," Bill started, "look." He pointed towards the map and Emily followed his gaze. She saw a drawn circle on the poster and she sat forward to get a better look at it; the words written beside the circle read, 'Storm Drain.' She didn't even need to ask the question as she started to shift uncomfortably. She started to get even more worried when Bill spoke up again.

"Th-That's where G-G-Georgie disappeared," he said, now beginning to point at everything else. "There's the Ironworks and The Black Spot… Everywhere It happens, it's-it's all connected by the sewers… and they all meet up at the -"

"The Well House!" Ben exclaimed, finishing his sentence for him. Emily looked even closer and, sure enough, that was where the red lines indeed led to. But… wait… It couldn't be… Was it…?

"It's in the house on Neibolt Street," Stan said in a tense voice, answering her question before she could ask it.

Emily's eyes widened as she realized something. It was something that nobody else in the group knew about… probably because she had never told them, figuring it wasn't important.

She had been to this house before…

_Emily froze just as she saw that house for the very first time. Never before had she seen a house quite like it. Sure, back in Indianapolis, there were several dilapidated houses that she had seen; they _had _creeped her out a lot. But not like _this _house did._

_It looked as if it had been abandoned for a hundred years. The wooden structure seemed as if it would cave in soon, but Emily didn't know how soon that would be. All of the windows were gone, and the weeds outside were overgrown. A chain-link fence surrounded the two-story house and it eerily reminded her of the Myers house from _Halloween_._

_A chill ran up and down Emily's spine as she stared at the house. It looked extremely uninviting to her, and she did not want to step one foot inside. But she at least didn't see any scary monsters crawling out of there, although she imagined it was infested with spiders and rodents._

_After several seconds, Emily forced her feet to keep moving and she kept walking down Neibolt Street. She made the smart decision of not looking back at that house as she put one foot in front of the other._

It was when she had been walking to school when she first moved to Derry so long ago. It felt like ages since she and Charlotte had moved into their home but, at the same time, it only felt as if weeks had gone by. But that was not important right now as the revelation dawned on her.

"You mean that creepy house where all the junkies and hobos like to sleep?" Richie asked out loud, making Emily roll her eyes out of annoyance.

And at those words, Eddie suddenly brought his inhaler to his mouth and sucked in a lot of air from it. Emily looked at him worriedly as he let out a cough, as did Richie; she quickly leaned towards him, resting a tentative hand on his back.

"I hate that place," Beverly stated in an uneasy tone as Eddie gasped for air. "Always feels like it's watching me…" Emily turned to the redhead and saw that she had a distant and disturbed look in her eyes. She honestly couldn't blame her.

Eddie then looked up, taking a shaky breath. "That's where I saw It," he told them weakly. "That's where I saw the clown…" Emily gave him a look of shock that said, "Are you serious?" He nodded at her, and another chill traveled down her spine. She couldn't even picture the terror he had felt when he saw that clown weeks before.

"Tha-Tha-Tha-That's where _It_ lives," Bill confirmed. Emily closed her eyes for a small moment before opening them again.

"I can't imagine _anything_ ever wanting to live there," Stan said with disgust and Emily put her other hand on his left arm to ease him; and it worked, just like always.

But her comfort wasn't doing Eddie any good, since he suddenly stood up, shocking the girl; he stomped over to the front of the room until he was facing the others. Emily saw that he looked ticked off, but she could see that, hidden beneath that demeanor, he was one hundred percent scared to death. "Can we stop talking about this?" he demanded, his voice trembling so badly as his hands quaked in front of him. "I-I-I can barely breathe… this is summer… we're kids! I can barely breathe and I'm about to have a freaking asthma attack! And I'm _not_ doing this!" He then turned around and tore the map away from the wall.

"Eddie, calm down!" Emily shouted, trying to be as gentle as possible with her tone. She failed, to say the least.

"What the heck?!" Bill exclaimed. "Put the map back!"

Eddie gave Bill a defiant look as he shook his head frantically in response, his eyes wider than Emily had ever seen them.

That was when things got weird.

Just as things were about to escalate, the projector started to switch slides by itself, making the light flicker very slowly; this drew everyone's attention to the object. Emily then saw something strange but alarming as things got weirder. As she did, she felt Stan's presence leave her side, but she immediately felt his hand grab her arm and pull her out of the chair she was sitting in.

"What happened?" Bill wondered, staring at the projector out of confusion.

Emily began to see pictures of Bill and his family together, with Georgie still alive and happy, smiling gleefully in each photo. The young girl would have normally found this adorable, but it was very creepy for her now and it was hard to look at.

Mike quickly stepped in to see what the problem was. "I got it, hold on," he mumbled to them as he did the best he could to fix the machine. When it didn't work, he started to get worried. "Guys…" he warned as the slides began to go faster.

The projector then stopped on a certain picture, one that Emily found genuinely upsetting - it was a photo of the family with Georgie holding hands with his parents in front of the local church. Just seeing it caused Emily to have to hold back tears of sorrow for the poor boy.

"Georgie…" Bill said sadly.

As the projector lamp kept flickering, the photo stayed the same… although they were changing angles as it zoomed in. It was happening way too fast for Emily's liking and she began to back up, pulling Stan with her as she did.

"Bill?!" Stan called out nervously, not knowing what to do.

But all they could do was watch as the projector zoomed and changed faster by the second and, eventually and to their utter shock, it began to shift towards Bill's mother. The woman's hair was moving as if a strong breeze of wind was passing by; the projector was going so fast-paced that the picture started to look more like a video at this point.

And then Emily saw something… She thought she would never see this freaking thing ever again.

But, to her horror, she did.

"What the heck?!" Eddie yelled in terror.

"It's It!" Bill yelled as everyone began reacting to the face of the clown that had taken the place of Sharon Denbrough.

They were all freaking out, even Emily herself, as they had no idea of what to do as the reality of the monster shattered their frail, imaginative minds.

"WHAT THE HECK IS THAT?!" Richie screamed louder than ever before. "_WHAT THE HECK IS THAT?!_" He grabbed Eddie's arm and brought him closer to him in a protective manner as he witnessed the clown's appearance for the very first time. He was hysterical, and there was a very good reason to be right now.

"_I DON'T FREAKING KNOW!_" Eddie bellowed in reply as he held onto Richie as well, the both of them trying to keep each strong in their moment of paralysing fear.

Emily was now trembling from head to toe as she stared at the image of the clown smiling sinisterly at them all, and it felt like It was locking eyes with _her_, which made her want to look away. But she wasn't able to, and she stayed rooted to the ground. It was only when Stan wrapped his arms around her and held her to him when she finally, although very slowly, began to calm down in his grasp. She was still completely speechless despite everything that was going on around her.

"Turn it off!" Beverly yelled urgently. "TURN IT OFF!"

Understanding Beverly's idea, Mike quickly moved towards the projector. He started slamming each button he could find and, when that didn't work, he kicked it over in frustration.

Emily watched it crash onto the concrete floor of the garage; the light was still on, however, although it was now pointing at the wall in a very crooked way. She began to finally catch her breath, her heart pounding way too quickly in her chest that it actually hurt, but she could still feel the presence of It, although the demonic creature was now gone. She then began to hear the slide switch again, showing a distorted photo of the clown - and It looked angry.

As each slide went by, the lamp would turn on and off.

On.

The clown was there.

Off.

On.

The clown stayed exactly where it was.

Off.

On.

The clown was _still _there, frozen in place.

Off.

On.

It was now gone.

Emily sighed with relief, letting out oxygen that she didn't even know that she was restraining; she felt more relieved than everyone else in the room, although they looked more so than she did.

Off.

On.

The clown suddenly popped out of the wall, now giant-sized and with a wide, toothy grin filled with sharp fangs and a predatory look in It's golden eyes. Emily screeched louder than everyone else as she jerked Stan away from the wall and towards the garage door; at the same time, Richie was yelling at the two to run. The boy then formed a protective shield in front of the girl he had a crush on, making sure that the demon wouldn't go anywhere near her. But It wasn't going for them.

It was going for the little lamb that the Losers had forgotten to guard.

Beverly Marsh - sweet Bevvie.

"BEVERLY!" Emily screamed tearfully, trying to get to her; Stan wouldn't allow it, however, and he held her back.

The redhead covered her face and could only pray for a quick and painless death. But by the time those hopes began to fill her mind, Ben and Mike quickly opened the garage door, letting the sunlight flood the room with its beauty.

And the clown was officially gone.

Stan hugged Emily tightly, suddenly afraid to let her go, especially considering that she could have died seconds ago. And… he wouldn't know how to live with himself if that ever happened. He would've probably died if she was hurt.

Wait, what in the world was he thinking? She didn't like him back! He needed to stop thinking all of that stuff.

"It saw us," Eddie began, his voice elevating in volume as he began panicking once more. "It saw us, and It _knows_ where we are!"

Bill, who was just breaking the embrace that he was sharing with Beverly, looked at Eddie blankly. "It always knew," he stated. "S-S-So let's go." He then walked out of the garage, towards where their bikes laid on the ground, and turned to look at them.

"Go?" Ben repeated numbly. "Go _where_?"

"Neibolt," Bill replied with a determined look on his face. "That's where G-G-G-G-G-Georgie is."

"After _that_?!" Stan questioned, astonished and dumbfounded at his best friend as he kept holding Emily's hand.

"Yeah," Emily agreed. "No offense, Bill, but do you really think we're going to that house after what we just went through?! Are you out of your damn mind?!"

"She's right, Bill," Richie added. "It's summer, we should be outside…"

That was the moment that Bill snapped.

"If you say it's summer one more f-f-f-_freaking_ time…" he shouted at Richie, his tone much harsher than he had ever used it before. He then stomped over to 'Silver' and jumped onto it, speeding away from them.

"Bill! Wait!" Beverly called after him, begging for him to come back.

But he ignored her and the others, disappearing from sight. And Emily knew that if their leader went off alone, they were going to follow him.

She just wished that her day would end normally. Or, at least, end with her still alive.

* * *

Emily didn't want to go back to her house to get her own bike, so she mounted on Stan's, not giving a shit about how fast he went this time. He still made sure to be careful despite this, not wanting her to fall off and hurt herself. That was the last thing he needed after what they had all just gone through.

The young girl had not even hesitated for a second when the Losers' Club had decided to go after Bill. She had instantly agreed, which didn't really surprise the others, but they also didn't know just how scared Emily truly was at the moment. She hid her true emotions like she always did, and they couldn't see that she did, which was her intention.

When the seven of them turned onto Neibolt Street, Emily instantly saw that terrifying house again. It looked just as creepy as it did when she first saw it almost two years ago now. After that day, she had made sure never to take that route to school ever again, because she didn't want to see the house that entered her nightmares every once in a while.

But, of course, fate always had other plans. She guessed that the teacher in _Halloween_ was right after all. Fate always took a different course, and it always had a way of catching up with you.

"Bill!" Beverly shouted just as Stan stopped his bike, allowing Emily to get off before him as he always did. "Bill, you can't go in there! This is crazy!"

Bill was already on the steps of the house as his friends approached him, and he turned to face them with a bold look on his face.

"Look, you don't have to come in with me," he replied emotionally, making Emily halt in her steps. "But what happens when another Georgie goes missing… or another Betty or another Ed Corcoran or… one of _us_? Are you just going to pretend it didn't happen like everyone else in this town? Because… _I_ can't… I go home and all I see is that Georgie isn't there… His clothes, his toys, his stupid stuffed animals… but _he_ isn't…"

Emily's vision was blurred by the tears swimming in her eyes at the mention of the seven-year-old. All she wanted was for Georgie to be alive again, since she really missed hearing his laughter or seeing him play when she sat on her front porch. She could barely even remember what he looked like now, and it pained her greatly that she would never get to see him in person for the rest of her living days. But all she knew at this moment was that Bill didn't deserve to go through this emotional agony.

"So walking into this house… for me… it's easier than walking into my own…" Bill finished, turning back around to wipe the tears away from his eyes as he approached the front door.

"Wow," Richie said in awe.

"What?" Emily asked, blinking her own tears away.

"He didn't stutter once."

Emily thought about it, and he did have a point. Not once did she hear a single stutter in that entire speech. A new wave of confidence flowing through her, she turned back to Bill and began following him up the stairs of the creepy house, as did everyone else.

"Wait!"

The seven teens turned to look at Stan, who was pale and looked slightly anxious. "Uhhh, shouldn't we have someone keep watch… you know, just in case something bad happens?"

Emily gave him a look of sympathy. She wasn't mad at Stan, she knew that; rather, she just wished that he would be a little braver than he was being right now. Despite this, she completely understood how terrified he was currently.

"Wh-Wh-Who wants to stay out here?" Bill asked, repressing his slight annoyance.

Everyone but Emily and Beverly raised their hands, which did surprise them a little but not that much. Stan's eyes widened at the brown-haired girl, and he moved to lift her arm up as well. But she jerked her arm away from his hand, shaking his head at him.

"Shoot," Richie whispered, knowing this was going to be difficult for all of them.

* * *

**A/N: And we have reached this point yet again. The first battle at Neibolt house is about to begin, folks! So, grab your popcorn and your pillows to scream into!**

**I'm currently watching the original Halloween as I write this lol It's an amazing film! :D**

**Anyways, thoughts on this chapter? Was it faithful to the movie? I hope it was for you guys!**

**What about the Stemily moments? Were they cute and awesome? I bet they were!**

**Well... that's pretty much it. All I need to say is to stay safe during the corona virus and keep washing your hands.**

**I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Be looking forward to the next one! Now I gotta finish Halloween, and Laurie is getting chased by Michael as I write this! I'm scared now... Have a great day, and until next time!**

**\- Hermione Romanoff**


	11. Emily Boleyn Gets a Fright

**DISCLAIMER: IT IS OWNED BY NEW LINE CINEMA AND WARNER BROS. STUDIOS! I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING EXCEPT FOR MY OC'S!**

**A/N: *game show host voice* Ladies and gentlemen, it's time... for the epic return... of... HERMIONE ROMANOFF!**

**So... uh... Hi, guys. I know it's been absolutely FOREVER since I've updated... ANYTHING, really. It's just, with the passing of my dad and schoolwork due to coronavirus that I wasn't motivated to write at all. But, here I am with a new update! Eleventh chapter, and the Neibolt scene is about to take place! WOO-HOO! I do believe it isn't the best chapter of them all, but I think it turned out pretty well! **

**AND JUST YOU WAIT UNTIL THE NEXT CHAPTER! NO SPOILERS, THOUGH!**

_**robinmuffins: Thank you so much! Glad you enjoyed the Halloween references! Also, be looking out for a few subtle IT novel references here! ;) And I'm glad you love Stemily blossoming!**_

_**SuperSentai199: Thanks! And just read this to find out! :D**_

_** .2020: Thank you!**_

_**10868letsgo: Thank you for the kind words.**_

_**Angryfanfic: Thank you.**_

_**ZabuzasGirl: Thanks! And here is the update!**_

_**MusicLover14rd: THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! That's all I need to say!**_

_**Special thanks to robinmuffins, SuperSentai199, .2020, 10868letsgo, Angryfanfic, ZabuzasGirl, MusicLover14rd, MitsukoDoki, yorukakusaku, HadrianSlytherinPeverell, and ArkhamAsylumPatient for either leaving a review or favoriting/following the last chapter!**_

**Now, without further ado, here is the eleventh and LONG AWAITED chapter!**

* * *

_Why does the sun go on shining?_

_Why does the sea rush to shore?_

_Don't they know it's the end of the world?_

_'Cause you don't love me anymore_

* * *

_**Chapter Eleven: Emily Boleyn Gets a Fright**_

As Emily watched Bill, Richie, and Eddie enter Neibolt house with petrified looks on their faces, a part of her wanted to follow close behind so she could protect them. But, after a desperate plea from Stan and after she saw tears in his eyes, Emily reluctantly stayed outside with him, Beverly, Ben, and Mike. And she was now sitting on the broken front steps of the house, wringing her hands together nervously, something that was becoming a very bad habit for her now.

Taking trembling breaths, Emily finally stood up after a while, running a hand over her face; she adjusted her glasses a little just in time to see Beverly put her hand over Ben's that was resting on her shoulder. The smallest of smiles appeared on her face, but it was gone in an instant when she saw that Stan was crying and Mike was attempting to comfort him.

This sight made her eyes well up with tears as she took slow and hesitant steps towards him. Each sob Stan let out made her heart break even more as she heard them bounce off the walls of her eardrums, and it took everything in her not to let out a cry of anguish and mercy. Instead, she shared a look with Mike, silently telling him that she could handle it; the colored boy nodded and went to check on Ben and Beverly. Emily gulped, gently taking Stan's face into her hands, and met his beautiful sienna eyes and giving him the most reassuring look she could offer to him.

Emily's hands on Stan's face made his heart race but he began to calm down as he stared back into her chocolate brown eyes. He barely resisted the burning desire to have his lips brush against hers, since he knew very well that now wasn't the time for that; this was especially considering that their friends could be watching them and the situation they were currently in wasn't particularly romantic in the slightest.

"I'm very scared," he said, his hands covering hers in a very delicate manner. The feeling of Emily brushing his tears away with her thumbs drove him crazy, but he kept his composure quite easily. "That's why I didn't want you to go inside… I don't want to see you get hurt. Do… Do you understand what I mean?"

Emily nodded soberly. "I do… and I don't want to see you get hurt as well."

"Stay here," Stan said. "Please… stay out here with us. With me. I don't want to see you in danger…. I care about you too much for that…"

"I will," Emily said. She took Stan into her arms and hugged him tightly; it was the first real hug she had ever shared with the boy she liked, and she wanted to treasure it more than anything. Emily had not realized how easily her arms would go around him, how thin he was. But she could care so much less right now. She could feel his heart racing under his shirt; she could feel it next to hers and it made her own skip multiple beats as she fell in love with the feeling.

She could feel Stan calming down in her arms as his breathing eased while she held him, and she ran his hands over his back, feeling him shiver under her touch. She kept whispering to him that it was okay, and he would just nod his head as she pulled him closer to her. Stan was gently rubbing Emily's arm; despite the nervousness of the situation she and the others were in, her heart fluttered at the feeling of her body pressed against his. The world around her temporarily melted away as she felt his protective arms embracing her.

Stan, meanwhile, was focused on the sensation of Emily's arms wrapped around his neck as he tentatively put his own around her waist. His face was buried in the crook of her neck as he relished how gentle she was being with the hug; it only made him hold her small form even tighter in his embrace. If this was the closest contact he would ever get with the girl he was unknowingly falling for, then so be it. He would die a happy man if that was the case. It made him desperate to not let her go, but he eventually had to.

So, after what seemed like millions of years, the two finally broke apart and shared a look that could say so much in a few seconds. Emily pressed her forehead against Stan's, her eyes still locked onto his in order to provide him more comfort. It slowly, but surely, worked and it made Emily pull back from the boy she had a crush on; despite this, she took both of his hands into hers and squeezed them gently. This made him give her a small smile in return but it didn't last for long.

Emily mustered up the courage to turn around after a while to look back at the house; it finally resonated in her just how silent it was all around them. She stared up at the dilapidated building that stood in front of her in an intimidating manner. The biggest chill ran up and down her spine when she saw the broken windows and the rotting wood, and Stan noticed, putting a hand on her back and rubbing his thumb over her shirt and she slowly relaxed. But it was the way that the house was crooked and tilted to the side that greatly unnerved her. She had the same bad feeling in her heart that she did when she first encountered It those few weeks before today.

She knew that something about this house was more terrible than anything she could have ever imagined. But she felt more curious than anything as she examined the lawn where only weeds seemed to grow, surrounding the property of 29 Neibolt Street.

_The windows look like eyes, _Emily thought, and her hand reached for Stan's behind her. She held it for luck and comfort. _They look like dirty blind eyes. And it stinks. I can smell It - but not with my nose, not exactly. This is one of Its places, all right. One of the places like the storm drains, where It goes out and comes back in. And It knows we're out here. It's waiting for us to come in._

"You okay?" Stan asked quietly.

Emily nodded.

"We should… look around the house and make sure nothing happens," she suggested afterwards. She admitted to herself that she was a little too scared to do this, but hey; someone had to be brave and she would willingly take that role of temporary leader. When the others nodded, although they were hesitant, Emily took a trembling breath and tried to wipe the perspiration off of her hands and onto her jean shorts.

"Okay," she murmured. "Um… Bev and I will take this side." As she said this, Stan gave her a worried look that told her that it wasn't a good idea; in return, she silently told him that it was okay and he slowly nodded, although he was afraid to. Right before she turned to walk with Bev, Emily took Stan's hand in hers one more time and offered a reassuring squeeze and she leaned forward and planted a light kiss on his cheek. She smiled at his furious blush before following Beverly to the left side of the lawn, Ben tagging along with them as Mike and Stan went to the other side.

"God, this place gives me the creeps," Beverly said softly. Emily nodded in agreement, as did Ben.

Twenty-nine Neibolt Street had once been a trim red Cape Cod. Maybe, Emily thought, an engineer used to live there; a fellow who would come home once or twice a month for stretches of three to four days and who would, on windy nights, think about the Girl He Left Behind. This fact disturbed her even more than she thought it would.

Now the red paint had faded to a wishy-washy pink that was peeling away in ugly patches that looked like sores. The windows were blind eyes, boarded up. Most of the shingles were gone. Weeds grew down both sides of the house and strewn across the lawn were a crop of old dandelions. A high board fence to her left lurched drunkenly in and out of the dank shrubbery. About halfway down this fence, Emily could see a giant grove of sunflowers; they had a bloated, nasty look she didn't like. The young girl shivered.

Ben noticed this and patted her on the back as a form of comfort, making her turn her head and give him the smallest of smiles, and he was barely able to return it. Emily subconsciously held out both of her hands and both Beverly and Ben took them and held them tightly. But, just as they did this, the brown-haired girl heard the faintest of whispers and she knew well that the voice did not belong to either of her friends.

"I hope they'll be okay inside," Emily said quietly despite this, closing her eyes for a moment as she took several deep breaths. Beverly nodded her head, basically saying that she was praying the same thing.

"_Emily… oh, Emily…"_

Emily froze in her tracks, her hair standing on the nape of her neck as she felt goosebumps erupt on her arms. She refused to turn around, knowing it could have been a trick or just something she heard in her head. But Bev and Ben noticed her halt in movements, and they turned around to give her concerned looks. They didn't say anything but it was clear that they were wondering what was wrong. Emily just shook her head at them, shrugging, when she heard it again.

"_Time to float, Emily…"_

And just as she heard it, she felt something tickle her ankles; she twitched at the feeling, but only assumed it was the weeds at first. She was about to move forward again when she felt it again, but it worried her this time.

"What is it, Em?" inquired Ben in a concerned voice. Emily didn't answer, instead slowly looking down at her feet, starting to shiver in a negative way when she finally saw the source of what she felt. Her eyes widened to the point that they were nearly bugging out of her skull as her heartbeat kicked into overdrive; afterwards, she looked back up at the others and she gulped.

"Guys," she whimpered, her breathing entering and leaving her lungs in haggard and forced breaths. Her two best friends looked down just in time to see two white-gloved hands wrapped around Emily's ankles.

Just then, Emily let out the loudest scream any human being could ever hear as the hands gave a fierce tug. She was on the ground in seconds, being pulled away from Beverly and Ben faster than she could have thought. Her hands clawed at the dirt, some of it gathering under her fingernails. She screamed even more just as she heard the panicked yells of Stan and Mike fill her ears, and this only made her shrieks louder.

She felt her left thigh scrape a rock on the ground and she let out a cry of pain. Just as she felt her legs enter a hole, however, Emily thought quickly and snatched her pocket knife out; she flicked it open and stabbed the blade into the ground, believing it could hold her in place long enough for the others to help her. To her shock, it worked, especially when the blade was stopped by a rock, keeping her out of the hole that she was certain was filled with death.

"EMILY!" Stan screamed in terror, immediately grabbing her hands with his own and making failed attempts to pull her out of the hands of It. He yelled in frustration, complete horror filling his heart at the fact that Emily could possibly die right here. That, combined with the girl's screams of desperation, made him even more determined to save her, his fear of the entity in the very back of his mind for the time being.

"GUYS, I NEED HELP!" he bellowed, his hands tightening around Emily's as he saw the other three come to his aid immediately. He grit his teeth in anger as he pulled Emily again. "LET HER GO!" he cried out in fury. "LET GO OF HER! GIVE HER BACK!"

Beverly saw Emily's pocket knife buried into the ground and tore it out of her grip; screaming, she lunged forward and stabbed the clown's arm with the blade, causing the demon to groan in pain. "LET OUR FRIEND GO!" she screeched angrily, bringing the knife down again and into Pennywise's shoulder, making It howl in agony before finally letting go of Emily's ankles.

As soon as Emily was free, she scrambled away from the large hole and began shrieking like a madwoman. She was almost entirely covered with dirt and her left thigh was slightly bleeding; Stan caught glimpses of the handprints on the girl's ankles and winced as he tried to comfort her. Tears were streaming down her red cheeks as she cried hysterically. "I don't wanna be here!" she yelled dozens and dozens of times. "I wanna go home!" What the others didn't know was that when she said 'home,' she meant that she wanted to be back in Indiana during those years where her father wasn't abusive towards her. She would take that torture a million times over what she had just gone through.

"Em, it's okay! We're here!" Stan assured her, begging for her to calm down as he had his hands on both sides of her face.

"Screw you!" she cried out angrily, making him flinch back, hurt by the insult. "Screw all of you! I WANT TO GO HOME!" Everyone reeled back in surprise; it was the most hysterical Emily had ever been since they first met her, and they could have easily mistook her for a patient in a mental hospital. She was screaming so frantically that they needed to hold her to the ground in order to calm her down, and that barely worked. So, Stan resorted to the only mechanism he had left.

He pulled Emily into his arms and cradled her face in his hands. "Emily, look at me!" he pleaded. "Please look at me!" His sienna eyes were desperately searching for her chocolate brown ones and he finally found them as she looked at him, still sobbing and breathing heavily. Her eyes bulged above bruised-looking crescents of skin - _shockflesh_. After this, she threw her arms around him and hugged him tighter than ever; her hands were trembling, the veins and tendons standing out along the inner surfaces of her wrists and forearms. She pulled away from him and looked around at the others with eyes that were nearly insane. "I'm sorry," she said rapidly. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…"

Beverly grabbed Emily by the shoulders and shook her a little to snap her out of her hysteria. Emily's teeth clicked together and she dropped her arms from Stan's neck.

"I'm sorry," Emily said softly, still crying.

"It's okay," Beverly said.

"I'm sorry," Emily said again, her eyes still filled with insanity.

"_It's okay_. We're -"

"_I'm sorry!_"

"- here with you, Emily," Beverly said. She looked at the others.

They nodded. And Emily saw this; the delirious glint in her brown eyes slowly faded away once she saw that she was okay and that her friends were right by her side, refusing for her to be hurt. She began taking deep breaths as the tears stopped flowing, but she buried her face in her hands and the oxygen left her quivering lungs as she trembled on the ground. Meanwhile, Stan looked at her, demanding with his eyes that she look back at him.

"It's all okay," Stan said. "We're here. We saved you… _I'm_ here for you…"

"_Nothing is okay!_" Emily wailed. Sweat stood out on her face in an oily sheen.

"It _will_ be," Stan said in a somewhat stern tone.

Emily looked at the others, one by one. She ran her hands through her long, brown hair and fetched up a great, shuddering sigh. Her eyes seemed to completely clear of that lowering madness that had so disturbed Stan.

"Okay," she said. "It's okay. Is that what you want to hear? Then it's okay… I'm-I'm fine…"

Stan just pulled Emily into a gentle hug, holding her until she was completely calm and sane. He ran a hand over her hair as they rocked back and forth, and he planted kisses in her hair, unbeknownst to her, saying that it would be okay over and over again. She relaxed in his embrace, her fists unclenching as she wiped her tears away, her breathing still a little shaky. She grimaced when she began to feel the pain in her ankles and she saw the bruises all around them.

Emily sighed to herself, more annoyed now as she slowly stood up; Stan had to help her due to the pain in her ankles and she draped an arm around his shoulders.

Just then, Emily began to hear screams coming from inside the house, which made her perk up instantly. As she hobbled towards the front porch, she strained to recognize whose voice she had just heard and she tilted her head to hear it better. She threw the door open, releasing her arm from around Stan's shoulders as she frantically limped through the house, ignoring his cries for her to come back.

"Bill?!" she called out. "Richie?! Eddie?! Guys, if you're there, answer me!"

No response. But the screams continued. This made her heart drop to the pit of her stomach as she recognized the voice behind the screams.

"EDDIE!" she bellowed. "EDDIE! WHERE ARE YOU, EDDIE?!"

Luckily for Emily, she didn't have to wait that long because, just seconds later…

"EMILY!" came Eddie's shriek from a few feet to the girl's left. "EMILY, I'M IN HERE! HELP! HELP!"

The brown-haired girl made a mad dash for the nearest doorway, and the first thing she saw made her want to scream but the presence of both Richie and Bill, who had entered the room on the other side, made her hold it back. Emily's heart hammered against her chest as she did her best to keep herself frozen in the doorway and not run to her best friend sitting on the ground and hold him. A single tear rolled down her right cheek when she heard Richie shout Eddie's name.

Eddie was cowering on the floor and crying, pressed against a broken table as he nursed his right arm. The reason why Emily, Bill, or Richie couldn't move towards him was the figure sitting in front of the small boy, with its head turned towards Bill in a furious manner. The figure wore a silk and silver, baggy suit that had orange pompom buttons lining down the front of it; it had a haunting white face with blood red lipstick that complemented very eerily with it's golden

_(menacing and deadly)_

eyes. It's hand was pinning Eddie onto the ground, refusing for him to move.

It seemed as if the clown hadn't seen her at all, since it was only focused on the two delicious meals provided in front of him. She tried to make a sound - _anything_ \- but nothing left her throat as she heard what the clown said next.

"_This isn't real enough for you, Billy?" _It asked with a disbelieving grin. "I'm _not real enough for you?!"_

Emily remained frozen in the doorway, since she truly didn't know what Bill had said to evoke this kind of reaction or response from the entity. Speaking of the boy, he locked eyes with her for the smallest of seconds, and his eyes widened in worry; it was clear that he had not expected her to walk into the room, and he didn't want her to get hurt. She was his best friend, the one that had helped him through this whole thing, and he wouldn't live with himself if she was injured or killed. He quickly looked back at the clown just as Richie cursed under his breath.

"_It was real enough for _Georgie…" It taunted sinisterly, cackling in a mocking manner in Bill's direction.

Emily's eyes widened as she gasped, pure fury boiling inside of her. And that was when she finally realized what true rage really was: it was a vexation of the soul, a swelling of the veins waiting to explode. Her blood rushed rapidly to her brain and all she saw in front of her was red; in that moment, Emily Boleyn wanted to lunge at the demon and choke the life out of it until it was no longer breathing. But she knew that would be a stupid move, so she stayed put. But she couldn't deny the anger she felt as her heart was torn out of its chest at the mention of Georgie.

But this only lasted for about three seconds, since Pennywise suddenly let out a demonic screech, standing up and pouncing at Richie and Bill. The latter got in front of the former and shielded him protectively, feeling guilty for bringing all of them here and not wanting them to die because of him. Georgie had been enough.

Suddenly, a stick was hurled in the clown's direction, clunking it on the side of the head. It grunted as it shook its head in puzzlement, before a cry of indignation filled the small room.

"OVER HERE, YOU STUPID CLOWN!"

Everyone, including It, turned their heads toward Emily, who had a look of rage creating a glint in her soft brown eyes. They were open so comically wide and a mad smile of lunacy was stretched across her sweaty face; truth be told, it scared all three of the boys in one small microsecond. She was also waving towards herself, as if beckoning for the creature to follow. They all screamed at her, begging her to not make what they were sure to be the most idiotic choice she would ever make in her young life.

"Yeah, that's right!" shouted Emily, beginning to lure It away from the others. "Take me! _Take me!_"

"Nuh-_No_, Emily!" Bill screamed at her, his eyes filling with tears. Whatever he did, he couldn't bear to move any closer to the girl, scared that the clown would suddenly jump at her and rip her to shreds right in front of him. And she had a long life to live, so he didn't want that to be cut short so early on, and that's what scared him more than ever, which only made everything worse for himself in the process.

"YOU WANT ME, NOT THEM!" she bellowed, her arms open, but the clown just stood there and waited.

The fear inside of her came as crashing waves hitting her heart and stomach, those of a winter snowstorm rather than any warmth. It came as a chill that went to the core of who Emily was as a human being and it snarled to her that she should cower. But she learned how to swim in that mental ice and live in the salty waters of her imagination with her own bravery being the furnace that provided a hint of fearlessness in herself. It was a strangely amazing feeling, when she knew her life was less important than those around her, and courage was all she needed to rise above her own personal demons, as well as her version of the depths of Hell staring back at her. She was ready to die.

Whatever it took.

"COME AND GET ME, YOU -" she yelled, but she was cut off by It's loud and piercing cry of fury as it lunged at her. She took a big step back as she shrieked in shock, preparing herself for the inevitable strike and for everything to go black.

Before the clown could reach Emily, however, a figure jumped in front of her, letting out a cry of anger before stabbing It in the face with a metallic pole. The young girl's eyes widened in surprise as she saw Beverly Marsh release her hands from the circular object, just as she felt Stan's arms around her from behind; he pulled her to the side and away from the demon, hugging her close to him protectively. But he wasn't able to shield the girl from the sight of the pole impaling It through the right eye socket and through the left jaw, blood floating into the air instead of down its face.

"Get Eddie! Get Eddie!" Stan yelled at the others, still holding Emily in his arms, as the clown froze while letting out an inhuman cry of pain.

Emily turned her head and saw Ben and Mike also standing to her left where she was moments earlier, staring at the creature with wide eyes.

"Eddie!" she screamed, but Stan's arms refused to let her go as she saw Beverly, Richie, and Bill run past the clown and towards the injured boy. She struggled against the boy holding her in place, but she seemingly gave up after a while, although she was annoyed.

When the other three got there, Eddie began panicking more than Emily had ever seen him do so, since he saw the clown recovering quickly. The boy was shrieking and screaming and everyone began to go hysterical, just like in the garage. Stan was freaking out as well, but he was being brave for Emily. He couldn't bear letting her go, he loved her too much for that.

Wait… _love?!_

He didn't have time to think of this, since both of them began to hear the low and guttural growls of Pennywise, and they were enough to chill them to the bone.

"We gotta get out of here!" Richie screamed as he grabbed Eddie and brought him closer to himself.

It then turned around to face the three sitting on the floor, and Emily was able to notice that its eyes were now a bright crimson; Pennywise was _livid_. With the pole still impaled in the clown's head, Emily found its crooked and toothy smile even more unnerving when she caught a glimpse of it. As this happened, she could hear Beverly whimper and she turned to see her trying to pull Richie off of the floor by the collar of his shirt.

"Get Eddie! Let's go!" Richie barked at the group. But they were all terrified.

"Watch out!" Emily warned in an uncontrollable voice when she saw Pennywise begin to stalk towards the four in a predatory manner, very slowly.

"NO, NO, NO, NO!" screeched Eddie, which made Emily snap. She wrenched herself free from Stan's tight grip around her waist and she hobbled over to her friends, throwing her arms in front of Richie, Eddie, and Bill. She was in between Eddie's legs as a shield, not wanting anything else to happen to him since he already had a broken arm. She briefly glanced at Stan, who was crying for her to come back, tears streaming down his face as he sobbed.

"DON'T, EMILY!" Eddie bellowed. She refused to listen to him.

Richie made Eddie look at him and tried to comfort him by telling him everything would be okay.

"He's gonna get us!" cried Eddie. "GUYS! NO!" Just then, Emily lowered her gaze to see the clown's gloves being ripped and two massive, furry hands with long claws peeking out to take their place. It made her eyes widen in horror as she moved closer to Eddie. She shook her head repeatedly, her fierce stare locked onto the demon in front of her.

The only emotion Emily could feel was fear. She could feel sweat drench every inch of her skin, the throbbing of her wide brown eyes, the ringing screams of terror echoing in her ears, and the thumping of her heart against her ribcage. Her hands were curled into tight fists, fingernails digging into her palms; she could have sworn she drew a little blood. She couldn't hear her rapid breathing, but she could feel the oxygen flooding her lungs. Horror tortured her guts, churning her stomach in tense cramps.

Then, It stomped its foot at them loudly, making them screech with terror as the clown roared.

"DON'T TOUCH THEM!" snarled Emily after she had jumped at the sudden act.

This only made Pennywise laugh childishly at her expense, making her more angry than scared. "_Leave them alone!_" she breathed out furiously. And the clown stopped laughing.

It suddenly swung its arm at Ben and Emily screamed at the top of her lungs when the massive claw slashed three deep gashes across her best friend's stomach.

"BEN!" both she and Eddie screamed.

Mike instantly helped Ben off of the floor; the overweight boy was only a little stunned by what had just happened that he hadn't even cried out in pain.

Emily turned back to Pennywise as Richie attempted to comfort Eddie even more; It slowly walked out of the room backwards, doing a weak bow as if the show was over. For some reason, she felt as if something

_(extreme danger)_

was on the near horizon. But It was injured and that was why It was leaving. Beverly really did hurt the clown, and it was not as strong as she thought.

The young girl remained frozen on the ground, thinking about what she had just seen, ignoring Stan's questions if she was okay and Eddie's panic attack occurring behind her; Richie was trying to calm the boy down, but he was a mess and in pain due to his broken arm.

Bill suddenly rose from Eddie's side, snapping Emily out of her trance and shocking everyone else.

"Don't let It get away!" he said as he followed after the clown.

As everyone else freaked out, yelling and crying for him to return, Emily found herself getting off of the floor and limping after Bill to try and catch the demon as well. Stan reached for her hand, but she just barely avoided it as she followed Bill into what seemed to be the basement of the house.

She wasn't able to get there in time because, by the time she caught up with Bill, Pennywise was long gone and nowhere to be seen.

"Bill! Emily! We have to help Eddie!" Beverly screamed after them.

The girl grabbed Bill's hand and pulled him back up the stairs and into the kitchen. Emily ran over to Eddie as fast as she could, kneeling down next to him and putting a hand on his left shoulder.

"NO! NO!" Eddie shrieked in anguish, the pain in his arm becoming too unbearable for him to handle. Emily winced at his yell, but she bravely remained by his side.

"I'm gonna snap your arm into place!" Richie told him in a panic, and Emily went pale, her eyes widening.

"Rich, I don't think that's a good idea!" she squealed, and he glared at her.

Eddie's eyes pierced into Richie's soul with a warning sneer. "RICH, DO NOT FREAKING TOUCH ME! DO _NOT_ TOUCH ME!" he roared at him, and Emily reeled back at his tone of voice, never wanting him to use it again.

Richie didn't listen, only wanting to help Eddie; but a part of him was scared he would make it so much worse. "Okay," he sputtered, "one, two, three!" He then snapped the broken arm back into place.

At that moment, Emily lost it. Just as she heard Eddie's intense screech of agony and distress, she hurled over and vomited everywhere, the puke and bile splattering against the rotted floorboards. Stan held her hair back for her as she did this, rubbing a hand over her back to comfort her.

All of them wasted no time in getting out of the house afterwards, sprinting for their bikes faster than ever. Emily noticed that the sun was slowly beginning to set, signaling that it would be curfew in an hour or so. She got onto the back of Stan's bike without saying a word to him, noticing Mike putting Eddie into the basket that he used to deliver meat around town.

Emily turned back around as Stan took off down the road and she wrapped her arms around his torso. She buried her face into the crook of his neck from behind, crying silently to herself.

She would do anything to be back home right now.

* * *

Emily could just say that when they all got Eddie to his house, his mother wasn't very happy.

"You… _You_ did this!" Sonia Kaspbrak yelled at the group, making Emily flinch a little, before grabbing the back of Eddie's neck and pushing him towards the car. This made the young girl furious as the older woman added onto her statement with, "You know how delicate he is!"

"We were attacked, Mrs. K," Bill tried to reason, but Emily gave him a warning glance.

"No, don't!" Sonia interrupted him angrily, opening the door of her car and roughly pushing Eddie inside, who began to cry quietly as he watched his mother scream at his friends. "Don't try and blame anyone else!" She closed the door and turned to grab her keys, but they fell onto the pavement. Beverly stepped forward to reach out for them, offering to help.

"No, _get back_!" barked Sonia, startling Beverly and causing her to take a step back as the woman snatched the keys off of the pavement.

"Oh, I've heard of you, Miss Marsh," Eddie's mom sneered at her with a nasty smile covering her face and malice filling her dark eyes. "And I don't want a dirty girl like you touching _my_ son."

Emily reached her breaking point, scoffing.

"Oh, that's _really_ funny, Mrs. K! Why don't we present you an award for the many times you've insulted my friends?! Because I think you freaking deserve it!" she yelled at her.

"What did you just say to me?!" snarled Sonia, glaring down at her. Emily didn't waver under her piercing glare.

"I think you heard me," replied Emily in a low voice.

"You're even worse than your trashy friend, Miss Boleyn," Sonia growled at her. "Your mother left her husband for no reason whatsoever, and I don't believe that Godless woman deserves to have a child like you -"

Sonia was abruptly cut off by Emily shoving her backwards, something that shocked everyone around her. The young girl's eyes were burning with a loathing that they had never seen before; she was beyond done with people's mess at this point, so she didn't care anymore.

"Say one more thing about my mom, lady! _ONE MORE THING! _I dare you, _I freaking dare you!_" she screamed at Sonia. "How about you quit standing there and drive your kid to a hospital! For God's sake, his arm is freaking broken! Don't you ever insult my mother ever again!"

Stan had to hold her in his arms to keep her from lunging at Sonia, and she managed to calm down as the older woman turned around to check on Eddie. If she hadn't been held back, she would have gotten her hands on her.

"Mrs. K, I…" Bill tried to say, but his stutter wouldn't allow him to in time because Sonia spun around and yelled at him again.

"_No!_ You are all _monsters_! _All _of you! And Eddie is done with you. Do you hear? _Done!_" she screeched. She then circled around her car as fast as her fat legs would allow her to and got into the driver's seat, slamming the door shut. Emily glared at the woman the entire time, but her heart broke at the sight of Eddie crying. But she wasn't able to look at the boy for very long since Sonia drove away seconds later.

The car left tire marks on the road as it made a three-point turn and sped down the road. The remaining seven Losers walked to the middle of the road, staring after the car with solemn expressions as it rounded the street corner. Emily looked down as her eyes filled with tears; Stan noticed and put a hand on her back to comfort her, not knowing that she was mostly exhausted.

"I saw the well."

Emily and the others looked at Bill as he turned to them with a determined expression on his face.

"W-W-W-We know where It is and… next time, we'll be better prepared," said Bill in a matter-of-fact tone.

"NO!"

Emily nearly jumped a mile into the air at Stan's sudden outburst, wincing at the pained and angry look on his face. She put a hand on his shoulder, but he shrugged her off.

"No next time, Bill! You're _insane_!" he yelled at the stutterer in a distressed tone.

It was at that moment that Emily sensed a fight coming.

"Why?" Beverly spoke up. "We all know no one else is going to do anything."

"Eddie was nearly _killed_!" Richie shouted, joining in the argument as he gestured towards where Sonia's car had sped off. He then pointed towards Ben's exposed stomach from his ripped shirt. "And look at Ben! He's leaking Hamburger Helper!"

This made Emily glance at Ben's wound and she cringed; but, regardless, she tried to handle the situation.

"Guys, let's not fight about this!" she gently demanded. "Why don't we just go somewhere and talk about -"

"_About what, Em?!_" Stan screamed at her, his eyes wide in disbelief. "About the fact that you nearly got freaking _butchered_?! Yeah, let's talk about how you were almost dragged into a hole and that you nearly lost your dang mind!"

Emily flinched at his tone, and it seemed as if he regretted yelling at her immediately afterwards. But there was no going back now.

"We can't pretend it's gonna go away!" Beverly said over them. "Ben, you said it yourself. It comes back every twenty-seven years." She was looking at Ben with a hopeful expression.

But Ben Hanscom wasn't really keen on agreeing with the redhead this time. "Fine!" he retorted. "I'll be forty and far away from here! I thought you said you wanted to get out of this town, too!"

"Because I wanna run _towards_ something!" said Beverly. "_Not_ away!"

"I'm sorry, who invited _Molly Ringwald_ into the group?!" Richie quipped angrily as he looked at Stan and Emily. The brown-haired girl sent him a warning glare as the redhead flipped him off.

"Richie…" Stan pleaded, seeing his best friend spiraling.

"I'm just saying," Richie resumed, turning towards the group. "Let's face facts, real world. Georgie is _dead_! Stop trying to get us killed, too!"

His statement only made Emily angrier, but she just turned away before she could lose control.

Bill, however, stepped in front of Richie with a furious expression on his face.

"Georgie's not dead!" Bill yelled.

Richie scowled at him. "You couldn't save him, but you can still save yourself," he offered to Bill, ignoring Emily's scream for him to shut his big mouth. Bill lost his patience and moved to be in front of him again.

"No, t-t-t-take it back!" shouted Bill. "You're scared and… we all are but _take it back!_" He then pushed Richie back in a rough manner. This made Emily gasp a little in shock.

Richie lost his temper and instantly rushed towards Bill, shoving him back; Emily immediately went to go break them up. She didn't quite make it since Bill punched Richie in the face, and her eyes widened to the size of saucers.

"Bill!" both she and Beverly screamed at him, and Emily gently pushed him back. "Calm down!" she demanded, her hands on Bill's shoulders. He looked at her angrily.

"Are you r-r-really _defending_ him?!" he yelled, shoving her back. She shook her head with a bewildered expression on her face.

"No, I'm not!" she screamed back. "But you need to calm down and be mature about this!"

Bill pushed her away roughly, making her nearly fall onto the ground, but Beverly caught her as Stan and Mike helped Richie up. The girl just stared at her best friend in shock that he would do such a thing to her.

"You're just a bunch of losers!" Richie accused them all. This made Bill advance towards Richie, lifting his fist to hit him again. Both Ben and Emily seized him from behind and dragged him back, trying to avoid more conflict. Bill was struggling in their grasps, but they were able to keep him at bay long enough.

"BUZZ OFF!" Richie screamed as Stan and Mike kept him back. "You're just a bunch of losers and you'll get yourselves killed trying to catch a freaking clown!"

"STOP!" Beverly exclaimed, causing everyone to stare at her. Richie shrugged off Mike and Stan's arms and fixed his glasses to look at the redhead with an annoyed expression.

"This is what It wants," Beverly stated. "It _wants _to divide us!" She was peering at everyone to make sure she was being listened to. "We were all _together_ when we hurt It! _That's_ why we're still alive!"

"Yeah?" Richie snapped at her angrily. "Well, I plan to _keep_ it that way!" He then marched past Bill, slamming his right shoulder into his left and towards his bike.

Emily just shook her head after meeting Bill's green eyes as she turned to walk away.

"I'm suh-sorry for pushing you, Em!" Bill shouted after her, his voice cracking. She didn't answer him.

"Emily!" Stan called.

"Leave me alone, Stan!" she snarled at him. She couldn't see him, but she could hear that he had fallen silent. She felt guilty for yelling at him, but she couldn't help it. So, she took a deep breath. "I just want to be alone, please," she said in a much quieter tone.

And when she rounded the corner of the street, she ran all the way home. And she began to cry.

* * *

**A/N: Poor Losers Club! :'( I feel bad for them!**

**It is almost 2:00 in the morning and I'm doing this... *sigh* But it's okay, since I'll be updating more often now! :D**

**So, thoughts on this chapter? Were the movie parts faithful?**

**Was Emily's scare shocking?! I hope so! It was planned for a while! ;)**

**Hopefully, you're preparing yourselves for a surprise in the next chapter! *smirks***

**Well... that's pretty much it. All I need to say is stay safe during the coronavirus and keep washing your hands.**

**I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Be looking forward to the next one! Have a great day, and until next time!**

**\- Hermione Romanoff**


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